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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: season · ruler · shower · chair · hide · squash · drill · pitch

  1. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  3. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  13. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  14. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  15. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  18. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  19. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  20. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  21. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  22. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  23. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  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. season — to add flavour
  2. ruler — a monarch
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. squash — to crush
  6. season — in sport
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. drill — a practice
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. shower — to wash
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. ruler — for measuring
  13. pitch — a sports field
  14. chair — a leader
  15. ruler — for measuring
  16. drill — the tool
  17. hide — animal skin
  18. pitch — completely
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. drill — army training
  21. season — of the year
  22. pitch — a sales talk
  23. squash — the sport
  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