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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: shower · squash · wave · capital · vault · wake · rock · mine

  1. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  2. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  3. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  4. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  11. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  12. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  15. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  16. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  17. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the vegetable
  2. wake — a trail
  3. rock — music
  4. rock — to move gently
  5. mine — for digging
  6. vault — in gymnastics
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. vault — a safe
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. wave — a sudden rise
  11. squash — to crush
  12. wave — with your hand
  13. shower — to wash
  14. squash — the sport
  15. wave — of the sea
  16. rock — a stone
  17. vault — an arched ceiling
  18. capital — money
  19. wake — to stop sleeping
  20. capital — a city
  21. shower — rain
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. wake — before a funeral
  24. mine — belonging to me

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