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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: wake · squash · bat · row · cue · kid · hand · lash

  1. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  2. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  11. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  24. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — an eyelash
  2. wake — a trail
  3. kid — to tease
  4. squash — the sport
  5. wake — before a funeral
  6. hand — help
  7. cue — a hint
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. cue — a signal
  11. lash — a whip stroke
  12. hand — in cards
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. row — a line
  15. wake — to stop sleeping
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. squash — to crush
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. kid — child
  20. lash — to lash out
  21. row — to paddle
  22. bat — the animal
  23. squash — the vegetable
  24. cue — for pool

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