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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 120 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.

Words on the sheet
468
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 · pass · game · squash · mouse · bass · spring · row

  1. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  4. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  5. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  8. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  13. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  14. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. shower — rain
  3. mouse — for a computer
  4. bass — the instrument
  5. bass — low music
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. bass — the fish
  8. pass — a permit
  9. shower — to wash
  10. spring — of water
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. pass — to succeed
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. mouse — the animal
  15. squash — to crush
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. pass — to spend time
  18. game — wild animals
  19. game — a match
  20. squash — the sport
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. row — a line
  23. row — to paddle
  24. spring — a coil

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