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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 116 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: squash · face · stick · swing · pit · shower · mine · lean

  1. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  5. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  9. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  12. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  13. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  14. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  15. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  16. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. David sat on the ________________.
  20. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  21. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  24. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — rain
  2. face — to confront
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. lean — thin
  5. pit — in a race
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. pit — a hole
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. shower — to wash
  11. face — to point toward
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. lean — to bend
  14. swing — music
  15. pit — a fruit stone
  16. stick — to attach or keep to
  17. mine — for digging
  18. swing — in golf
  19. swing — to play on
  20. face — part of the head
  21. squash — to crush
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. squash — the sport
  24. lean — to rest against

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