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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 · cap · sharp · squash · mine · bank · lash · rule

  1. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  4. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  5. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  6. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  9. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  12. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  13. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  14. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  15. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  16. It's one o'clock ________________.
  17. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  23. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  24. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the vegetable
  2. shower — to wash
  3. cap — a lid
  4. lash — a whip stroke
  5. sharp — with an edge
  6. cap — of ice
  7. shower — rain
  8. rule — government
  9. bank — of a river
  10. mine — for digging
  11. lash — an eyelash
  12. sharp — clever
  13. squash — the sport
  14. lash — to lash out
  15. rule — to rule out
  16. sharp — exactly
  17. rule — a law
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. bank — for money
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. cap — a hat
  23. bank — for money
  24. squash — to crush

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