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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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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. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  2. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  3. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. That must've been a ________________.
  18. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  19. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  23. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  24. The King held a masked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. club — a group
  2. fan — to cool the air
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. field — for sport
  5. row — to paddle
  6. club — for dancing
  7. field — a subject
  8. ball — a great time
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. row — a line
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. rush — to hurry
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. shower — rain
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. bat — the animal
  17. rush — a thrill
  18. rush — hurry
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. field — farmland
  21. shower — to wash
  22. club — for golf
  23. ball — a round shape
  24. ball — a dance

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