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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.

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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: rush · squash · shower · snap · scale · court · wound · can

  1. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. That must've been a ________________.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  16. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  22. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  23. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. can — to be able to
  2. snap — to click
  3. squash — the vegetable
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. shower — rain
  6. wound — an injury
  7. scale — in music
  8. rush — hurry
  9. court — of law
  10. squash — to crush
  11. shower — to wash
  12. rush — a thrill
  13. wound — an injury
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. rush — to hurry
  16. can — a tin
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. snap — to speak sharply
  19. court — of a king
  20. court — for sport
  21. can — a tin
  22. squash — the sport
  23. scale — size or range
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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