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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: squash · ground · court · stick · shower · mine · swing · rush

  1. That must've been a ________________.
  2. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  5. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. David sat on the ________________.
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  20. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  21. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — a thrill
  2. swing — music
  3. mine — for digging
  4. stick — to attach or keep to
  5. squash — to crush
  6. ground — a position
  7. swing — in golf
  8. court — of law
  9. rush — hurry
  10. shower — rain
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. ground — the earth
  13. swing — to play on
  14. ground — crushed
  15. rush — to hurry
  16. shower — to wash
  17. court — for sport
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. stick — a piece of wood
  20. stick — a piece of wood
  21. squash — the sport
  22. court — of a king
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. squash — the vegetable

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