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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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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: staff · squash · temple · mate · swing · lash · stock · kid

  1. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  3. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  4. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  8. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  9. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. The ________________ market has crashed.
  12. David sat on the ________________.
  13. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  14. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  17. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  18. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  19. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  20. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  21. When was this ________________ built?
  22. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  24. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. lash — a whip stroke
  4. staff — employees
  5. kid — child
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. staff — employees
  8. squash — the vegetable
  9. squash — to crush
  10. stock — goods
  11. stock — shares
  12. swing — to play on
  13. swing — music
  14. stock — a soup base
  15. kid — to tease
  16. mate — to breed
  17. mate — a friend
  18. lash — an eyelash
  19. squash — the sport
  20. temple — side of the head
  21. temple — a place of worship
  22. staff — a stick
  23. swing — in golf
  24. lash — to lash out

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