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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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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: toast · spring · dip · shower · squash · cell · drill · rock

  1. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  2. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  9. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  12. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  16. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  17. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  18. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  19. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to sink
  2. toast — bread
  3. shower — rain
  4. spring — the season
  5. shower — to wash
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. cell — in biology
  8. dip — to dunk
  9. squash — the sport
  10. squash — to crush
  11. toast — the most admired
  12. drill — army training
  13. spring — a coil
  14. cell — a phone
  15. toast — a drink to someone
  16. rock — to move gently
  17. squash — the vegetable
  18. dip — a sauce
  19. rock — music
  20. drill — the tool
  21. drill — a practice
  22. rock — a stone
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. spring — of water

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