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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: club · lie · shower · fan · coach · drill · squash · rush

  1. That must've been a ________________.
  2. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  3. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  4. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  5. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  6. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  7. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  13. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  14. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  15. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  16. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  17. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  18. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  23. Have you met the new head ________________?
  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. rush — a thrill
  2. squash — the sport
  3. rush — hurry
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. club — a group
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. club — for golf
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. lie — to recline
  10. squash — to crush
  11. drill — army training
  12. squash — the vegetable
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. fan — to cool the air
  15. rush — to hurry
  16. coach — pulled by horses
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. drill — the tool
  19. shower — to wash
  20. club — for dancing
  21. drill — a practice
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. coach — a trainer
  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