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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: cell · band · bear · drill · pitcher · coach · fan · shower

  1. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  2. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  8. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  9. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  10. Have you met the new head ________________?
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  18. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  19. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  20. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. cell — in biology
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. coach — pulled by horses
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. bear — the animal
  8. drill — army training
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. cell — a phone
  12. bear — the animal
  13. shower — to wash
  14. drill — the tool
  15. band — a ring
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. drill — a practice
  19. bear — to put up with
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. shower — rain
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. fan — to cool the air
  24. band — a music group

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