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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: club · shower · bat · ball · leaves · fan · arm · jam

  1. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  4. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  5. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  6. My father caught me by the ________________.
  7. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  8. The King held a masked ________________.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  11. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  12. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  13. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  14. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  15. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  16. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  19. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  20. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  21. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. club — for golf
  3. jam — to spread on bread
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. arm — a part of something
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. club — for dancing
  8. ball — a dance
  9. bat — the animal
  10. leaves — to go away
  11. ball — a great time
  12. club — a group
  13. ball — a round shape
  14. jam — a tight spot
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. leaves — of a tree
  19. fan — to cool the air
  20. leaves — lets stay
  21. jam — in traffic
  22. shower — to wash
  23. shower — rain
  24. bat — for baseball

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