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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 120 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: hand · rush · bark · lie · dip · squash · net · rash

  1. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  12. Don't do anything ________________.
  13. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  14. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  15. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  16. That must've been a ________________.
  17. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  18. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — a sauce
  2. net — after costs
  3. rush — hurry
  4. hand — help
  5. squash — the vegetable
  6. hand — in cards
  7. squash — to crush
  8. squash — the sport
  9. bark — to shout
  10. net — in sport
  11. dip — to sink
  12. rash — hasty
  13. rush — to hurry
  14. dip — to dunk
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. rush — a thrill
  17. lie — to recline
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. rash — on the skin
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. rash — a series
  24. net — for catching

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