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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: rush · chip · mine · shower · bat · wake · squash · trunk

  1. That must've been a ________________.
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  9. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  10. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. You shouldn't ________________ things.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — a thrill
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. mine — for digging
  5. bat — the animal
  6. rush — hurry
  7. shower — rain
  8. chip — for betting
  9. chip — in a computer
  10. trunk — of an elephant
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. squash — to crush
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. wake — before a funeral
  16. squash — the sport
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. chip — to eat
  19. shower — to wash
  20. wake — a trail
  21. wake — to stop sleeping
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. rush — to hurry

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