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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.

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: rush · fan · drill · squash · root · staff · shower · degree

  1. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  4. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  5. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  6. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  7. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  10. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  13. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  16. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  17. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  18. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  19. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  20. That must've been a ________________.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. shower — to wash
  3. root — of a plant
  4. staff — a stick
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. rush — hurry
  8. drill — the tool
  9. staff — employees
  10. root — the cause
  11. degree — an amount
  12. root — of a word
  13. squash — the vegetable
  14. degree — temperature
  15. squash — the sport
  16. drill — army training
  17. squash — to crush
  18. fan — to cool the air
  19. rush — to hurry
  20. rush — a thrill
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. drill — a practice
  23. shower — rain
  24. degree — from a university

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