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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: shower · stand · bore · squash · rash · scale · spring · jam

  1. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  10. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  11. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  12. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  13. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  16. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  17. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  18. I can't ________________ this cold.
  19. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  20. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  21. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  22. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. bore — gave birth
  3. shower — rain
  4. shower — to wash
  5. bore — to drill
  6. spring — of water
  7. spring — a coil
  8. squash — to crush
  9. scale — in music
  10. squash — the vegetable
  11. jam — a tight spot
  12. scale — for weighing
  13. bore — to tire
  14. spring — the season
  15. rash — a series
  16. stand — for spectators
  17. rash — on the skin
  18. stand — to bear
  19. jam — in traffic
  20. scale — size or range
  21. squash — the sport
  22. jam — to spread on bread
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. stand — on your feet

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