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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: foot · dip · lean · squash · shower · can · scale · spring

  1. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  6. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  7. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  8. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  9. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  10. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  15. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  16. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  17. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  20. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  21. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  22. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  23. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  24. He is as ________________ as a wolf.

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

Answer key

  1. can — to be able to
  2. spring — a coil
  3. shower — rain
  4. shower — to wash
  5. foot — the bottom
  6. foot — a measure
  7. scale — for weighing
  8. dip — a sauce
  9. squash — to crush
  10. dip — to sink
  11. spring — of water
  12. squash — the vegetable
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. lean — to rest against
  15. lean — to bend
  16. dip — to dunk
  17. can — a tin
  18. spring — the season
  19. scale — in music
  20. scale — size or range
  21. squash — the sport
  22. can — a tin
  23. foot — part of the body
  24. lean — thin

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