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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: cue · toast · branch · cell · chest · squash · lash · saw

  1. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  6. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. She's very handy with a ________________.
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  13. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  14. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  15. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  16. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  17. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  18. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  19. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. He works in a ________________ mill.
  22. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. I'll take my ________________ from you.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — bread
  2. chest — of your body
  3. squash — the vegetable
  4. squash — to crush
  5. branch — of a tree
  6. squash — the sport
  7. cell — a phone
  8. chest — of your body
  9. saw — the tool
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. lash — an eyelash
  13. lash — to lash out
  14. cue — a signal
  15. toast — a drink to someone
  16. saw — past of 'see'
  17. toast — the most admired
  18. lash — a whip stroke
  19. branch — a division
  20. chest — a box
  21. saw — the tool
  22. cue — for pool
  23. cell — in biology
  24. cue — a hint

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