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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: straw · lash · wound · capital · squash · bowl · pitcher · foot

  1. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  2. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  5. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  21. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  22. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  23. He is an ace ________________.
  24. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — to lash out
  2. squash — the sport
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. foot — the bottom
  5. foot — part of the body
  6. wound — an injury
  7. bowl — a football final
  8. capital — a city
  9. wound — an injury
  10. lash — a whip stroke
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. squash — the vegetable
  13. squash — to crush
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. capital — money
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. foot — a measure
  21. bowl — a dish
  22. lash — an eyelash
  23. pitcher — in baseball
  24. bowl — to roll

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