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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: squash · deal · straw · cell · shower · net

  1. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  4. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  8. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  9. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. cell — a phone
  3. squash — to crush
  4. deal — a big deal
  5. shower — rain
  6. net — after costs
  7. deal — an agreement
  8. squash — the vegetable
  9. deal — to handle
  10. net — in sport
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. cell — in biology
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. shower — to wash
  16. squash — the sport
  17. net — for catching
  18. cell — in a prison

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