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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 · bound · bowl · shower · lash · squash · row · kid

  1. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  3. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  4. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  5. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. That was ________________ to happen.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  20. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  21. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  24. I'd like to play a game of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. bound — obliged
  3. row — to paddle
  4. squash — the vegetable
  5. lash — a whip stroke
  6. shower — rain
  7. kid — child
  8. bowl — a dish
  9. shower — to wash
  10. bound — tied together
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. bound — certain
  13. land — to come down
  14. lash — to lash out
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. land — ground
  17. row — a line
  18. land — a country
  19. bowl — a football final
  20. bowl — to roll
  21. lash — an eyelash
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. squash — to crush
  24. squash — the sport

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