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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: shower · coach · cue · bore · game · present · bark · squash

  1. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  2. Have you met the new head ________________?
  3. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  12. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  18. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  19. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  22. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  23. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  24. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — to crush
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. present — there
  4. shower — rain
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. game — wild animals
  8. cue — a hint
  9. bark — to shout
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. bore — to tire
  12. cue — for pool
  13. game — a match
  14. shower — to wash
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. squash — the sport
  17. coach — pulled by horses
  18. bore — gave birth
  19. present — the time now
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. present — a gift
  22. bore — to drill
  23. cue — a signal
  24. coach — a trainer

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