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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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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: cap · squash · club · face · shower · kick · straw · present

  1. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  5. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  6. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  7. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  8. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  9. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  10. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  21. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  22. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. shower — rain
  3. cap — a hat
  4. present — the time now
  5. face — part of the head
  6. cap — of ice
  7. kick — with a leg
  8. kick — in football
  9. squash — to crush
  10. cap — a lid
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. kick — a thrill
  14. shower — to wash
  15. club — a group
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. squash — the sport
  18. face — to point toward
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. face — to confront
  21. club — for dancing
  22. present — there
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. club — for golf

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