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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: wind · ruler · saw · roll · capital · date · shower · squash

  1. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  2. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  3. He works in a ________________ mill.
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. We're on a ________________ here.
  14. She's very handy with a ________________.
  15. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  16. Have you settled on a ________________?
  17. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  18. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  22. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. ruler — a monarch
  2. roll — a list
  3. saw — the tool
  4. squash — the sport
  5. date — the fruit
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. wind — moving air
  9. shower — rain
  10. ruler — for measuring
  11. capital — money
  12. capital — a city
  13. roll — on a roll
  14. saw — the tool
  15. ruler — for measuring
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. saw — past of 'see'
  18. squash — the vegetable
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. shower — to wash
  21. roll — a cake
  22. squash — to crush
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. wind — moving air

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