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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 120 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: wind · lash · arm · club · cold · rest · bark · squash

  1. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  2. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  3. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  6. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  7. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  10. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  14. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  15. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  16. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  17. My father caught me by the ________________.
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  24. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — a part of something
  2. rest — a break
  3. lash — to lash out
  4. squash — to crush
  5. squash — the vegetable
  6. lash — an eyelash
  7. rest — what's left
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. club — a group
  10. club — for golf
  11. cold — an illness
  12. wind — moving air
  13. lash — a whip stroke
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. club — for dancing
  16. rest — what's left
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. cold — not warm
  21. wind — moving air
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. squash — the sport
  24. bark — to shout

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