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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: fan · press · shower · chip · rash · squash · calf · net

  1. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  2. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  3. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  4. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  5. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  6. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  9. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  10. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. Did you ________________ the button?
  18. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  19. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  20. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  21. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  22. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  23. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  24. Don't do anything ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. calf — of the leg
  5. squash — the sport
  6. rash — a series
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. rash — on the skin
  9. chip — for betting
  10. chip — in a computer
  11. shower — to wash
  12. net — after costs
  13. squash — the vegetable
  14. net — in sport
  15. net — for catching
  16. shower — rain
  17. press — to push
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. press — newspapers
  20. fan — to cool the air
  21. squash — to crush
  22. press — a publisher
  23. chip — to eat
  24. rash — hasty

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