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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 116 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: hand · bowl · shower · spring · chip · last · wake · squash

  1. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  11. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  12. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  13. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  14. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  22. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. last — final
  3. bowl — to roll
  4. shower — to wash
  5. spring — a coil
  6. shower — rain
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. wake — before a funeral
  9. last — finally
  10. chip — in a computer
  11. chip — to eat
  12. bowl — a football final
  13. wake — to stop sleeping
  14. squash — the vegetable
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. spring — the season
  17. last — to go on
  18. squash — to crush
  19. hand — help
  20. spring — of water
  21. bowl — a dish
  22. chip — for betting
  23. hand — in cards
  24. wake — a trail

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