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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: rush · degree · chair · bat · squash · shower · lean · pitcher

  1. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. That must've been a ________________.
  18. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  19. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. He is an ace ________________.
  22. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  23. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. squash — the vegetable
  4. squash — to crush
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. shower — rain
  7. rush — hurry
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. lean — to bend
  11. degree — an amount
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. bat — the animal
  14. shower — to wash
  15. rush — to hurry
  16. squash — the sport
  17. rush — a thrill
  18. lean — to rest against
  19. lean — thin
  20. degree — from a university
  21. pitcher — in baseball
  22. chair — a leader
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. degree — temperature

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