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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 116 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: shower · ball · fork · squash · mark · game · rash · season

  1. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  3. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  4. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  5. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  6. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  7. Don't do anything ________________.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  12. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  13. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  16. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  17. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  18. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. The King held a masked ________________.
  22. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  23. Did you ________________ the meat?
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. ball — a great time
  3. rash — on the skin
  4. fork — to eat with
  5. squash — to crush
  6. mark — to pay attention
  7. rash — hasty
  8. shower — to wash
  9. fork — a garden tool
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. fork — in a road
  12. ball — a round shape
  13. mark — a trace
  14. game — a match
  15. season — of the year
  16. rash — a series
  17. mark — a grade
  18. squash — the vegetable
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. game — wild animals
  21. ball — a dance
  22. season — in sport
  23. season — to add flavour
  24. shower — rain

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