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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: squash · wind · cell · pound · pitch · lash · mate · snap

  1. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  2. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  3. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  4. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  7. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. Have you found your soul ________________?
  16. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  17. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  20. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  23. He was locked up in a ________________.
  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. lash — a whip stroke
  2. pound — to hit hard
  3. lash — to lash out
  4. mate — a friend
  5. snap — to click
  6. pitch — completely
  7. lash — an eyelash
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. squash — the sport
  10. wind — moving air
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. cell — in biology
  13. pound — a weight
  14. cell — a phone
  15. mate — a partner
  16. mate — to breed
  17. pound — for dogs
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. squash — to crush
  20. pitch — a sales talk
  21. wind — moving air
  22. pitch — a sports field
  23. cell — in a prison
  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