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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 · squash · drill · bay · coach · wake · temple · mine

  1. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  2. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  3. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  4. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  10. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  11. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  12. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  13. Have you met the new head ________________?
  14. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. My mare is ________________ in color.
  17. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  18. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  22. When was this ________________ built?
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  24. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. squash — the vegetable
  4. drill — a practice
  5. shower — rain
  6. mine — for digging
  7. wake — before a funeral
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. wake — a trail
  10. bay — to keep at bay
  11. squash — the sport
  12. wake — to stop sleeping
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. drill — army training
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. bay — a horse colour
  17. temple — side of the head
  18. squash — to crush
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. shower — to wash
  21. coach — pulled by horses
  22. temple — a place of worship
  23. drill — the tool
  24. bay — a part of the sea

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