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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 116 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: pit · rush · trunk · safe · degree · shower · mine · squash

  1. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  5. That must've been a ________________.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  8. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  14. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  15. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  16. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  21. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  22. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  23. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. safe — a strongbox
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. squash — the vegetable
  5. rush — a thrill
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. rush — to hurry
  8. trunk — of a car
  9. degree — temperature
  10. degree — an amount
  11. shower — rain
  12. squash — to crush
  13. trunk — of an elephant
  14. pit — a hole
  15. safe — out of danger
  16. trunk — of a tree
  17. mine — for digging
  18. safe — out of danger
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. rush — hurry
  21. squash — the sport
  22. pit — in a race
  23. pit — a fruit stone
  24. shower — to wash

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