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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: plane · shower · squash · mark · wind · hand · dip · pitch

  1. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  2. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  3. The ________________ took off on time.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  10. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  11. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  21. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  22. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  23. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — rain
  2. pitch — a sports field
  3. plane — an aircraft
  4. hand — in cards
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. hand — help
  7. pitch — a sales talk
  8. squash — to crush
  9. squash — the sport
  10. mark — a trace
  11. dip — a sauce
  12. wind — moving air
  13. mark — to pay attention
  14. shower — to wash
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. dip — to dunk
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. plane — in geometry
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. plane — a tool
  21. mark — a grade
  22. pitch — completely
  23. dip — to sink
  24. wind — moving air

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