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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: squash · shower · root · pit · bat · cell · last · rash

  1. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  5. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  6. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. Don't do anything ________________.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  23. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  24. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. squash — to crush
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. cell — a phone
  4. root — of a plant
  5. root — of a word
  6. pit — in a race
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. root — the cause
  9. shower — to wash
  10. squash — the vegetable
  11. cell — in biology
  12. last — to go on
  13. bat — the animal
  14. last — final
  15. rash — hasty
  16. last — finally
  17. rash — a series
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. shower — rain
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. pit — a hole
  23. squash — the sport
  24. pit — a fruit stone

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