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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: drill · rash · toast · shower · hide · cell · squash · perch

  1. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  4. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  8. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  9. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  10. Don't do anything ________________.
  11. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  12. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  13. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  14. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  15. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  23. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  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. hide — to keep secret
  2. cell — a phone
  3. perch — the fish
  4. toast — the most admired
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. shower — to wash
  7. drill — a practice
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. rash — hasty
  11. hide — animal skin
  12. rash — on the skin
  13. toast — a drink to someone
  14. rash — a series
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. shower — rain
  18. toast — bread
  19. drill — the tool
  20. cell — in biology
  21. drill — army training
  22. squash — the sport
  23. squash — to crush
  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