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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.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
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 · clip · bound · game · wind · fall · lash · spell

  1. That was a fun ________________.
  2. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  5. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  6. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. That was ________________ to happen.
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  13. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  14. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  19. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  22. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  23. How do you ________________ your surname?
  24. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. spell — magic
  3. clip — to cut
  4. lash — a whip stroke
  5. squash — to crush
  6. spell — a short time
  7. wind — moving air
  8. game — wild animals
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. bound — certain
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. squash — the sport
  13. fall — the season
  14. bound — tied together
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. clip — a video
  17. wind — moving air
  18. bound — obliged
  19. fall — to drop
  20. clip — for paper
  21. lash — an eyelash
  22. lash — to lash out
  23. spell — letters
  24. fall — to drop

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