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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: pop · squash · content · cabinet · lash · wind · last · mate

  1. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  2. We're almost out of ________________.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  5. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  6. What do you think of the new ________________?
  7. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  8. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. Have you found your soul ________________?
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  14. You don't need to ________________ round.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  17. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  18. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  19. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  22. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — videos and posts
  2. pop — soda
  3. content — happy
  4. squash — the vegetable
  5. lash — a whip stroke
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. cabinet — a cupboard
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. last — final
  10. mate — a partner
  11. last — finally
  12. wind — moving air
  13. lash — to lash out
  14. pop — to visit
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. squash — to crush
  17. lash — an eyelash
  18. mate — to breed
  19. mate — a friend
  20. content — the amount
  21. pop — music
  22. squash — the sport
  23. wind — moving air
  24. last — to go on

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