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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: shower · rush · hide · hand · trunk · squash · stem · toast

  1. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  3. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  10. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  11. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. That must've been a ________________.
  14. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  15. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  16. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  19. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  20. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  21. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. stem — a stem cell
  3. rush — to hurry
  4. squash — to crush
  5. hide — animal skin
  6. hand — help
  7. squash — the vegetable
  8. hand — in cards
  9. toast — a drink to someone
  10. trunk — of an elephant
  11. trunk — of a tree
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. rush — a thrill
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. toast — the most admired
  16. trunk — of a car
  17. shower — to wash
  18. rush — hurry
  19. toast — bread
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. stem — of a plant
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. stem — to come from
  24. shower — rain

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