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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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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: race · bear · saw · spring · club · field · shower · ball

  1. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  4. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. She's very handy with a ________________.
  11. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. The King held a masked ________________.
  14. He works in a ________________ mill.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a round shape
  2. field — farmland
  3. club — a group
  4. club — for dancing
  5. shower — to wash
  6. bear — the animal
  7. shower — rain
  8. bear — the animal
  9. race — humankind
  10. saw — the tool
  11. club — for golf
  12. spring — a coil
  13. ball — a dance
  14. saw — the tool
  15. field — a subject
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. bear — to put up with
  18. race — the arms race
  19. spring — of water
  20. saw — past of 'see'
  21. race — a contest
  22. spring — the season
  23. ball — a great time
  24. field — for sport

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