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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: rule · pit · bulb · chest · shower · squash · rush · sharp

  1. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  2. The light ________________ burned out.
  3. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  7. I've got to change the light ________________.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  13. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  16. It's one o'clock ________________.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  19. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. That must've been a ________________.
  22. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  23. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  24. I'd like to play a game of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — to hurry
  2. bulb — for light
  3. squash — the vegetable
  4. chest — of your body
  5. sharp — clever
  6. rule — government
  7. bulb — for light
  8. chest — a box
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. pit — a fruit stone
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. pit — in a race
  13. rule — a law
  14. chest — of your body
  15. pit — a hole
  16. sharp — exactly
  17. shower — rain
  18. rush — hurry
  19. rule — to rule out
  20. shower — to wash
  21. rush — a thrill
  22. squash — to crush
  23. bulb — of a plant
  24. squash — the sport

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