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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 116 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: squash · board · object · wind · spring · capital · lash · dip

  1. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  3. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  4. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  5. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  6. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  9. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  10. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  11. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  12. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  15. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. The spa offers ________________ extensions.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. squash — the vegetable
  3. dip — to dunk
  4. object — to protest
  5. lash — to lash out
  6. object — an aim
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. board — a committee
  9. board — a flat piece
  10. dip — a sauce
  11. squash — to crush
  12. lash — a whip stroke
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. board — to get on
  15. dip — to sink
  16. squash — the sport
  17. spring — the season
  18. wind — moving air
  19. capital — a city
  20. wind — moving air
  21. object — a thing
  22. capital — money
  23. spring — a coil
  24. lash — an eyelash

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