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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 · fan · board · bat · cell · cue

  1. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  8. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  12. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  18. I'll take my ________________ from you.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. cue — for pool
  3. cell — a phone
  4. fan — to cool the air
  5. shower — rain
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. cue — a signal
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. shower — to wash
  11. board — to get on
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. board — a committee
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. cell — in biology
  17. board — a flat piece
  18. cue — a hint

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