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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: lash · bark · squash · face · stick · rule · content · tube

  1. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  3. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  4. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  5. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  6. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  9. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  10. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. I'll be taking the ________________.
  13. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  16. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  17. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  18. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  22. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  23. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  24. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. lash — a whip stroke
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. lash — an eyelash
  5. face — to confront
  6. rule — government
  7. bark — to shout
  8. tube — in a tire
  9. squash — the sport
  10. stick — to attach or keep to
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. tube — the underground
  13. squash — the vegetable
  14. content — the amount
  15. rule — to rule out
  16. rule — a law
  17. lash — to lash out
  18. face — to point toward
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. tube — a container
  22. face — part of the head
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. squash — to crush

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com