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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: hand · pound · mine · shower · rule · squash · last · plane

  1. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  4. The ________________ took off on time.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  19. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  22. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  23. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — to crush
  2. shower — rain
  3. squash — the sport
  4. plane — an aircraft
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. last — to go on
  7. mine — for digging
  8. last — final
  9. last — finally
  10. rule — government
  11. hand — help
  12. pound — to hit hard
  13. shower — to wash
  14. rule — to rule out
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. plane — a tool
  19. plane — in geometry
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. pound — a weight
  22. rule — a law
  23. pound — for dogs
  24. hand — in cards

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