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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: spring · lash · bark · fall · squash · drill · bowl · pit

  1. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  11. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  16. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  19. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  20. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  21. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  22. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  23. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. lash — to lash out
  3. fall — to drop
  4. drill — the tool
  5. bark — to shout
  6. pit — a hole
  7. fall — the season
  8. spring — of water
  9. fall — to drop
  10. bowl — to roll
  11. lash — an eyelash
  12. spring — a coil
  13. bowl — a football final
  14. spring — the season
  15. drill — a practice
  16. pit — in a race
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. drill — army training
  19. squash — to crush
  20. pit — a fruit stone
  21. squash — the sport
  22. lash — a whip stroke
  23. squash — the vegetable
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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