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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: land · craft · march · kid · net · lie · squash · lash

  1. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  16. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  17. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. lash — a whip stroke
  3. net — after costs
  4. lash — to lash out
  5. land — to come down
  6. craft — a handicraft
  7. kid — to tease
  8. squash — to crush
  9. march — the month
  10. lie — to recline
  11. net — for catching
  12. squash — the vegetable
  13. march — the month
  14. net — in sport
  15. squash — the sport
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. march — music
  20. craft — a skill
  21. kid — child
  22. lash — an eyelash
  23. land — a country
  24. craft — boats

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