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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 116 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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: wound · ball · rash · shower · kick · squash · stem · mouse

  1. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  3. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  13. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  14. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  17. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  18. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  19. The King held a masked ________________.
  20. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  21. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  22. Don't do anything ________________.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. The kitten curled into a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a great time
  2. squash — the sport
  3. kick — in football
  4. wound — an injury
  5. kick — with a leg
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. kick — a thrill
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. shower — rain
  10. stem — of a plant
  11. wound — an injury
  12. mouse — for a computer
  13. squash — the vegetable
  14. squash — to crush
  15. shower — to wash
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. stem — to come from
  18. rash — on the skin
  19. ball — a dance
  20. mouse — the animal
  21. rash — a series
  22. rash — hasty
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. ball — a round shape

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