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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: bat · key · shower · game · march · field

  1. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. This piece is in a major ________________.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  18. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — a meteor shower
  2. march — the month
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. key — for a lock
  5. march — the month
  6. field — a subject
  7. shower — to wash
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. game — wild animals
  10. bat — the animal
  11. key — in music
  12. field — for sport
  13. march — music
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. field — farmland
  16. shower — rain
  17. key — the most important part
  18. game — a match

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