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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 120 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: swing · lash · ground · wound · squash · saw · rush · pop

  1. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  5. She's very handy with a ________________.
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  11. You don't need to ________________ round.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  14. He works in a ________________ mill.
  15. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  19. David sat on the ________________.
  20. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  21. That must've been a ________________.
  22. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  24. We're almost out of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. squash — to crush
  3. wound — an injury
  4. swing — in golf
  5. saw — the tool
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. lash — to lash out
  8. ground — crushed
  9. ground — a position
  10. lash — a whip stroke
  11. pop — to visit
  12. ground — the earth
  13. rush — to hurry
  14. saw — the tool
  15. squash — the sport
  16. wound — an injury
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. lash — an eyelash
  19. swing — to play on
  20. saw — past of 'see'
  21. rush — a thrill
  22. pop — music
  23. swing — music
  24. pop — soda

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