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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: drill · pitcher · last · lean · squash · sharp · court · shower

  1. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. It's one o'clock ________________.
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  21. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. He is an ace ________________.
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. squash — the vegetable
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. lean — thin
  5. sharp — clever
  6. shower — to wash
  7. court — of a king
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. sharp — exactly
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. shower — rain
  12. court — of law
  13. last — finally
  14. drill — the tool
  15. lean — to bend
  16. squash — the sport
  17. drill — a practice
  18. court — for sport
  19. last — to go on
  20. squash — to crush
  21. lean — to rest against
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. pitcher — in baseball
  24. drill — army training

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