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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: shower · squash · game · leaves · bank · club · lean · roll

  1. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  2. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  3. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  9. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  14. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  17. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  18. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  19. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  20. We're on a ________________ here.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  23. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  24. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — thin
  2. roll — a cake
  3. squash — the sport
  4. squash — to crush
  5. roll — a list
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. game — a match
  8. bank — for money
  9. lean — to bend
  10. game — wild animals
  11. leaves — lets stay
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. club — for golf
  14. bank — for money
  15. shower — to wash
  16. club — for dancing
  17. leaves — of a tree
  18. squash — the vegetable
  19. bank — of a river
  20. roll — on a roll
  21. shower — rain
  22. club — a group
  23. leaves — to go away
  24. lean — to rest against

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