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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: object · arm · wind · shower · dip · stem · hand · squash

  1. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  6. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  7. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  12. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  15. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  16. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  17. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. My father caught me by the ________________.
  22. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the vegetable
  2. wind — moving air
  3. squash — the sport
  4. shower — to wash
  5. arm — a part of something
  6. squash — to crush
  7. dip — a sauce
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. hand — help
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. object — to protest
  12. dip — to dunk
  13. hand — in cards
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. dip — to sink
  16. object — an aim
  17. stem — to come from
  18. shower — rain
  19. object — a thing
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. stem — of a plant
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. wind — moving air

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