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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.

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: spring · shower · bore · deal · rash · chest · bear · squash

  1. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  12. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  13. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  14. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  20. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  21. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  22. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. Don't do anything ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. chest — of your body
  3. rash — on the skin
  4. squash — the sport
  5. spring — of water
  6. bore — to tire
  7. spring — a coil
  8. chest — of your body
  9. deal — an agreement
  10. shower — to wash
  11. bore — to drill
  12. bear — to put up with
  13. bore — gave birth
  14. rash — a series
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. spring — the season
  18. chest — a box
  19. squash — to crush
  20. deal — to handle
  21. deal — a big deal
  22. bear — the animal
  23. shower — rain
  24. rash — hasty

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