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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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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: rest · last · mine · squash · fall · lash · deal · bark

  1. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  2. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  3. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  4. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  5. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  6. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  17. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  20. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  21. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  24. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — to lash out
  2. rest — a break
  3. deal — to handle
  4. lash — a whip stroke
  5. squash — the vegetable
  6. fall — to drop
  7. last — final
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. last — to go on
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. fall — to drop
  12. fall — the season
  13. bark — to shout
  14. mine — for digging
  15. last — finally
  16. squash — to crush
  17. deal — an agreement
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. rest — what's left
  20. deal — a big deal
  21. squash — the sport
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. lash — an eyelash
  24. rest — what's left

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