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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.

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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: chair · current · rush · trunk · shower · squash · rash · game

  1. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. Don't do anything ________________.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  8. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  15. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  16. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  17. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  18. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  21. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  22. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  23. That must've been a ________________.
  24. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. rush — to hurry
  3. chair — to sit on
  4. rash — hasty
  5. game — wild animals
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. current — of water
  8. rash — a series
  9. game — a match
  10. squash — to crush
  11. chair — a leader
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. shower — rain
  14. rash — on the skin
  15. squash — the sport
  16. current — happening now
  17. trunk — of a car
  18. rush — hurry
  19. shower — to wash
  20. trunk — of a tree
  21. current — electric
  22. squash — the vegetable
  23. rush — a thrill
  24. trunk — of an elephant

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