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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: pound · squash · season · kid · toast · face · shower · rule

  1. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  2. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  7. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  15. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  16. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  17. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  22. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  23. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — a law
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. squash — the vegetable
  4. squash — the sport
  5. season — of the year
  6. toast — the most admired
  7. face — to confront
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. toast — a drink to someone
  10. squash — to crush
  11. shower — rain
  12. pound — a weight
  13. kid — to tease
  14. face — part of the head
  15. rule — government
  16. face — to point toward
  17. season — in sport
  18. kid — child
  19. pound — to hit hard
  20. shower — to wash
  21. toast — bread
  22. rule — to rule out
  23. pound — for dogs
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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