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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: board · bat · shower · squash · racket · rule · bulb · toast

  1. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  2. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  3. I've got to change the light ________________.
  4. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  5. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. The light ________________ burned out.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  10. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  11. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  12. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  19. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — bread
  2. toast — the most admired
  3. bulb — for light
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. squash — to crush
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. bulb — for light
  8. shower — rain
  9. toast — a drink to someone
  10. board — to get on
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. racket — a loud noise
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. rule — to rule out
  15. shower — to wash
  16. rule — government
  17. squash — the sport
  18. bulb — of a plant
  19. board — a flat piece
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. rule — a law
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. board — a committee
  24. bat — the animal

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