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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: swing · mark · lash · kid · squash · temple · wound · game

  1. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  10. When was this ________________ built?
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  13. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  14. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. David sat on the ________________.
  18. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  19. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  20. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  21. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  22. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  23. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. mark — to pay attention
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. wound — an injury
  5. kid — child
  6. squash — to crush
  7. wound — an injury
  8. kid — to tease
  9. squash — the vegetable
  10. temple — a place of worship
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. lash — an eyelash
  13. temple — a place of worship
  14. temple — side of the head
  15. game — wild animals
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. swing — to play on
  18. mark — a grade
  19. mark — a trace
  20. swing — music
  21. swing — in golf
  22. lash — a whip stroke
  23. lash — to lash out
  24. game — a match

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