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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: wound · leaves · lean · cue · rush · club · shower · degree

  1. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  2. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  3. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  4. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  5. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  6. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  7. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  8. That must've been a ________________.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  15. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  16. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  17. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — to hurry
  2. lean — to rest against
  3. lean — to bend
  4. club — for golf
  5. leaves — to go away
  6. leaves — of a tree
  7. cue — a signal
  8. rush — a thrill
  9. shower — to wash
  10. cue — a hint
  11. shower — rain
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. degree — temperature
  14. lean — thin
  15. rush — hurry
  16. cue — for pool
  17. leaves — lets stay
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. club — for dancing
  20. wound — an injury
  21. wound — an injury
  22. degree — from a university
  23. degree — an amount
  24. club — a group

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