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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: spell · date · bat · cabinet · bore · squash · shower · field

  1. Have you settled on a ________________?
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  6. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  7. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  10. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. What do you think of the new ________________?
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  20. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  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. date — on the calendar
  2. field — farmland
  3. bat — the animal
  4. shower — rain
  5. date — the fruit
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. bore — to tire
  8. spell — letters
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. cabinet — a cupboard
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. spell — magic
  14. squash — the vegetable
  15. field — for sport
  16. bore — to drill
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. squash — to crush
  20. squash — the sport
  21. shower — to wash
  22. spell — a short time
  23. bore — gave birth
  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