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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.

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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: spell · toast · scale · squash · shower · spring · wound · club

  1. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  10. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  13. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  17. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  18. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  23. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  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. squash — to crush
  2. spring — a coil
  3. scale — in music
  4. spring — of water
  5. scale — size or range
  6. spell — magic
  7. wound — an injury
  8. wound — an injury
  9. club — a group
  10. scale — for weighing
  11. spell — letters
  12. squash — the sport
  13. club — for dancing
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. shower — to wash
  16. spell — a short time
  17. squash — the vegetable
  18. toast — a drink to someone
  19. spring — the season
  20. club — for golf
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. toast — the most admired
  23. toast — bread
  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