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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: cue · cold · squash · shower · mate · bank

  1. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  2. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  3. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  6. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  7. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  10. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  11. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  12. Have you found your soul ________________?
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  17. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a hint
  2. squash — the sport
  3. bank — for money
  4. shower — rain
  5. squash — the vegetable
  6. bank — for money
  7. mate — to breed
  8. cold — an illness
  9. squash — to crush
  10. cue — a signal
  11. bank — of a river
  12. mate — a partner
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. cold — not warm
  15. shower — to wash
  16. mate — a friend
  17. cue — for pool
  18. shower — a meteor shower

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