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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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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 · kid · content · track · vault · squash · leaves · club

  1. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  12. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  15. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  19. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  22. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  23. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  24. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the vegetable
  2. kid — child
  3. squash — the sport
  4. kid — to tease
  5. leaves — lets stay
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. track — to keep track
  8. squash — to crush
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. shower — rain
  11. vault — an arched ceiling
  12. vault — in gymnastics
  13. shower — to wash
  14. track — a song
  15. leaves — of a tree
  16. content — happy
  17. content — the amount
  18. vault — a safe
  19. track — a path
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. club — a group
  22. club — for golf
  23. leaves — to go away
  24. club — for dancing

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