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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.

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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: pitch · squash · fan · shower · cabinet · tear · chip · cold

  1. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  6. What do you think of the new ________________?
  7. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  10. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  16. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  19. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  20. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  23. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  24. There's a computer ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — to crush
  2. tear — from crying
  3. shower — rain
  4. shower — to wash
  5. cabinet — a cupboard
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. pitch — completely
  8. cold — not warm
  9. squash — the sport
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. tear — from crying
  12. tear — to rip
  13. pitch — a sales talk
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. chip — to eat
  16. fan — to cool the air
  17. cold — an illness
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. squash — the vegetable
  20. pitch — a sports field
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. chip — for betting
  24. chip — in a computer

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