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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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Word bank
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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: game · lash · bat · dip · prune · row · shower · squash

  1. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  4. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  5. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  9. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  19. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  24. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.

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

Answer key

  1. row — to paddle
  2. prune — to trim
  3. squash — to crush
  4. lash — to lash out
  5. lash — an eyelash
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. dip — to dunk
  9. squash — the sport
  10. game — wild animals
  11. shower — to wash
  12. bat — the animal
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. row — a line
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. dip — a sauce
  17. game — a match
  18. prune — to trim
  19. dip — to sink
  20. shower — rain
  21. lash — a whip stroke
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. prune — the fruit
  24. squash — the vegetable

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