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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 120 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
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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 · rule · cue · squash · pitcher · kid · bear · net

  1. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  3. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  4. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  11. He is an ace ________________.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  14. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  19. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  20. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  21. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  24. I'll take my ________________ from you.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. bear — the animal
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. shower — rain
  6. net — after costs
  7. squash — the vegetable
  8. shower — to wash
  9. net — for catching
  10. rule — a law
  11. pitcher — in baseball
  12. kid — child
  13. rule — government
  14. cue — for pool
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. kid — to tease
  17. net — in sport
  18. rule — to rule out
  19. squash — to crush
  20. bear — the animal
  21. bear — to put up with
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. cue — a signal
  24. cue — a hint

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