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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 120 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: cold · rest · rush · wound · squash · plane · wave · shower

  1. That must've been a ________________.
  2. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. The ________________ took off on time.
  5. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  9. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  10. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  11. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  12. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  15. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  18. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  21. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  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. rush — a thrill
  2. wound — past of 'wind'
  3. cold — not warm
  4. plane — an aircraft
  5. rest — a break
  6. wound — an injury
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. wave — a sudden rise
  9. squash — the sport
  10. squash — the vegetable
  11. rush — to hurry
  12. plane — in geometry
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. wave — of the sea
  15. rush — hurry
  16. wound — an injury
  17. plane — a tool
  18. wave — with your hand
  19. cold — an illness
  20. rest — what's left
  21. squash — to crush
  22. shower — to wash
  23. rest — what's left
  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