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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: squash · lash · bound · file · capital · bear · march · bat

  1. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  2. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  8. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  9. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  10. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  13. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. That was ________________ to happen.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — a whip stroke
  2. squash — to crush
  3. bat — the animal
  4. file — a line of people
  5. bear — to put up with
  6. capital — money
  7. bound — tied together
  8. bear — the animal
  9. bear — the animal
  10. bound — obliged
  11. march — the month
  12. squash — the vegetable
  13. squash — the sport
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. march — the month
  16. file — a tool
  17. lash — to lash out
  18. capital — a city
  19. march — music
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. bound — certain
  22. file — a document
  23. lash — an eyelash
  24. bat — in an idiom

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