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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 120 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: shower · chip · ball · racket · wake · swing

  1. The King held a masked ________________.
  2. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  3. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  10. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  11. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  12. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  13. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  16. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a dance
  2. racket — a loud noise
  3. wake — a trail
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. ball — a great time
  6. swing — to play on
  7. chip — in a computer
  8. shower — to wash
  9. chip — to eat
  10. wake — to stop sleeping
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. ball — a round shape
  13. wake — before a funeral
  14. shower — rain
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. chip — for betting
  17. swing — in golf
  18. swing — music

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