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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: bowl · foot · ball · fan · cue · shower · field · spell

  1. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  4. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  7. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  12. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  13. How do you ________________ your surname?
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  16. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  17. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  18. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  19. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  20. The King held a masked ________________.
  21. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. shower — to wash
  3. fan — to cool the air
  4. bowl — a football final
  5. shower — rain
  6. cue — a hint
  7. bowl — a dish
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. spell — a short time
  10. field — farmland
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. foot — part of the body
  13. spell — letters
  14. spell — magic
  15. cue — a signal
  16. foot — a measure
  17. bowl — to roll
  18. foot — the bottom
  19. ball — a great time
  20. ball — a dance
  21. cue — for pool
  22. field — for sport
  23. ball — a round shape
  24. field — a subject

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