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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: safe · cell · squash · mouse · shower · rash · degree · tear

  1. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  5. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  9. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  14. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  20. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  21. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  22. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. cell — a phone
  3. shower — to wash
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. tear — to rip
  7. tear — from crying
  8. rash — a series
  9. safe — out of danger
  10. tear — from crying
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. degree — an amount
  13. squash — the sport
  14. safe — out of danger
  15. shower — rain
  16. cell — in biology
  17. safe — a strongbox
  18. degree — from a university
  19. squash — the vegetable
  20. mouse — for a computer
  21. squash — to crush
  22. rash — on the skin
  23. degree — temperature
  24. cell — in a prison

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