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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: lash · ground · shower · rash · suit · cell · fork · squash

  1. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  5. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  6. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  7. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  8. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. When will it ________________ you to start?
  13. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  16. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  17. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  18. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  19. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. Don't do anything ________________.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. fork — in a road
  3. ground — crushed
  4. lash — to lash out
  5. lash — an eyelash
  6. fork — a garden tool
  7. suit — clothes
  8. fork — to eat with
  9. shower — rain
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. cell — a phone
  12. suit — to fit
  13. rash — on the skin
  14. ground — a position
  15. rash — a series
  16. suit — in cards
  17. squash — to crush
  18. lash — a whip stroke
  19. squash — the vegetable
  20. shower — to wash
  21. cell — in biology
  22. rash — hasty
  23. ground — the earth
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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