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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: squash · cabinet · wind · row · fan · lash · kid · date

  1. What do you think of the new ________________?
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  4. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  5. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  6. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  7. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  8. Have you settled on a ________________?
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  14. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  18. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  21. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  22. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  23. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. squash — to crush
  4. squash — the vegetable
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. fan — to cool the air
  7. row — to paddle
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. kid — child
  10. lash — an eyelash
  11. wind — moving air
  12. row — a line
  13. lash — a whip stroke
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. wind — moving air
  16. kid — to tease
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. cabinet — a cupboard
  21. lash — to lash out
  22. date — the fruit
  23. squash — the sport
  24. row — a quarrel

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