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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  3. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  12. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  13. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  14. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  15. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  22. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  23. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  24. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. fan — to cool the air
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. court — for sport
  5. shower — rain
  6. mate — to breed
  7. shower — to wash
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. trunk — of a tree
  10. row — to paddle
  11. patient — calm and waiting
  12. bass — the fish
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. trunk — of an elephant
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. court — of a king
  17. row — a line
  18. court — of law
  19. bass — low music
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. mate — a friend
  22. trunk — of a car
  23. bass — the instrument
  24. patient — a sick person

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