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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: rash · lash · deal · mate · squash · jam · cold · tube

  1. I'll be taking the ________________.
  2. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  3. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  4. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  7. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  10. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  13. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  14. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  15. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  16. Don't do anything ________________.
  17. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  18. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  19. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  20. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  23. Have you found your soul ________________?
  24. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. jam — a tight spot
  3. lash — to lash out
  4. mate — to breed
  5. cold — an illness
  6. jam — in traffic
  7. deal — an agreement
  8. squash — to crush
  9. jam — to spread on bread
  10. deal — a big deal
  11. cold — not warm
  12. lash — an eyelash
  13. rash — on the skin
  14. mate — a friend
  15. rash — a series
  16. rash — hasty
  17. deal — to handle
  18. squash — the sport
  19. tube — in a tire
  20. tube — a container
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. lash — a whip stroke
  23. mate — a partner
  24. squash — the vegetable

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