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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.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
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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: shower · cabinet · squash · degree · march · mouse

  1. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. What do you think of the new ________________?
  12. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. march — music
  4. degree — an amount
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. shower — to wash
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. degree — temperature
  9. squash — the vegetable
  10. shower — rain
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. cabinet — a cupboard
  13. march — the month
  14. squash — to crush
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. degree — from a university
  17. mouse — for a computer
  18. march — the month

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