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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: swing · squash · rule · shower · bark · degree

  1. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  6. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  10. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. David sat on the ________________.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. 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. squash — the vegetable
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. degree — an amount
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. squash — to crush
  6. rule — government
  7. shower — rain
  8. degree — temperature
  9. swing — in golf
  10. rule — to rule out
  11. swing — music
  12. degree — from a university
  13. rule — a law
  14. bark — to shout
  15. swing — to play on
  16. shower — to wash
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. 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