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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 124 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: squash · dip · shower · spring · cell · net · craft · kick

  1. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  2. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  12. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  13. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  14. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  17. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — with a leg
  2. dip — to dunk
  3. net — for catching
  4. craft — a skill
  5. spring — of water
  6. net — after costs
  7. dip — to sink
  8. shower — to wash
  9. cell — a phone
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. craft — boats
  12. craft — a handicraft
  13. kick — in football
  14. kick — a thrill
  15. spring — the season
  16. dip — a sauce
  17. squash — the vegetable
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. cell — in biology
  20. squash — to crush
  21. spring — a coil
  22. squash — the sport
  23. net — in sport
  24. shower — rain

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