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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.

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: cold · tear · squash · hand · lash · scale · mug · bat

  1. Where did you ________________ them?
  2. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  7. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  8. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  9. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  19. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — to rob
  2. squash — the vegetable
  3. tear — from crying
  4. hand — help
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. scale — in music
  7. lash — an eyelash
  8. scale — size or range
  9. lash — a whip stroke
  10. tear — to rip
  11. hand — in cards
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. scale — for weighing
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. cold — an illness
  16. mug — a cup
  17. cold — not warm
  18. mug — a face
  19. squash — the sport
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. lash — to lash out
  22. bat — the animal
  23. squash — to crush
  24. tear — from crying

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