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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.

Words on the sheet
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: shower · fine · lie · spell · squash · pass · chair · kid

  1. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  9. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  18. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  19. How do you ________________ your surname?
  20. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. squash — the vegetable
  3. shower — rain
  4. fine — all right
  5. chair — a leader
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. shower — to wash
  8. pass — a permit
  9. pass — to succeed
  10. kid — to tease
  11. spell — a short time
  12. lie — to recline
  13. squash — to crush
  14. spell — magic
  15. pass — to spend time
  16. kid — child
  17. fine — a penalty
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. spell — letters
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. fine — high quality
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. chair — to sit on

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