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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: hand · shower · squash · fan · drill · trunk · kid · suit

  1. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  5. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  6. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  7. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  10. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  11. When will it ________________ you to start?
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  14. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  15. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — in cards
  2. drill — army training
  3. hand — help
  4. suit — clothes
  5. trunk — of a car
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. squash — to crush
  8. shower — rain
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. fan — to cool the air
  11. suit — to fit
  12. kid — to tease
  13. suit — in cards
  14. squash — the vegetable
  15. drill — a practice
  16. squash — the sport
  17. kid — child
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. trunk — of an elephant
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. shower — to wash
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. drill — the tool
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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