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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 120 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: mouse · lean · squash · shower · leaves · field · spring · fall

  1. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  3. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  4. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  5. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  8. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  14. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  15. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  20. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. leaves — to go away
  3. squash — the sport
  4. lean — thin
  5. squash — to crush
  6. spring — of water
  7. squash — the vegetable
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. field — farmland
  10. lean — to rest against
  11. shower — rain
  12. field — a subject
  13. mouse — for a computer
  14. leaves — lets stay
  15. leaves — of a tree
  16. fall — to drop
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. spring — the season
  19. lean — to bend
  20. fall — the season
  21. field — for sport
  22. mouse — the animal
  23. spring — a coil
  24. fall — to drop

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