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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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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 · root · fall · bark · season · band · lash · club

  1. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  4. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  5. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  6. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  10. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  14. Did you ________________ the meat?
  15. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  16. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  17. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  19. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  20. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  23. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. season — of the year
  3. season — in sport
  4. club — a group
  5. squash — the vegetable
  6. root — the cause
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. band — a ring
  9. lash — an eyelash
  10. club — for dancing
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. band — a music group
  13. squash — the sport
  14. season — to add flavour
  15. root — of a plant
  16. root — of a word
  17. squash — to crush
  18. fall — the season
  19. fall — to drop
  20. fall — to drop
  21. bark — to shout
  22. lash — a whip stroke
  23. lash — to lash out
  24. band — a rubber band

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