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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: foot · lash · date · drill · chair · squash · fall · bound

  1. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  2. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  3. That was ________________ to happen.
  4. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  5. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  8. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  9. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  13. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  14. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  15. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  21. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  22. Have you settled on a ________________?
  23. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  24. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. drill — army training
  3. bound — certain
  4. foot — a measure
  5. foot — the bottom
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. bound — obliged
  8. foot — part of the body
  9. bound — tied together
  10. fall — to drop
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. squash — the vegetable
  13. date — the fruit
  14. squash — the sport
  15. lash — an eyelash
  16. drill — a practice
  17. chair — a leader
  18. lash — to lash out
  19. drill — the tool
  20. lash — a whip stroke
  21. fall — the season
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. squash — to crush

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