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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: squash · prune · rash · shower · kid · row · bulb · cabinet

  1. I've got to change the light ________________.
  2. What do you think of the new ________________?
  3. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  6. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  7. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. Don't do anything ________________.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. The light ________________ burned out.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  21. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  22. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. kid — to tease
  5. rash — on the skin
  6. bulb — of a plant
  7. squash — to crush
  8. row — a line
  9. prune — to trim
  10. rash — hasty
  11. shower — to wash
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. squash — the vegetable
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. squash — the sport
  17. row — to paddle
  18. bulb — for light
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. cabinet — a cupboard
  21. prune — to trim
  22. rash — a series
  23. shower — rain
  24. kid — child

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