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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: fork · cabinet · season · shower · bat · chest · board · spell

  1. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. What do you think of the new ________________?
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  10. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  11. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  12. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  15. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  16. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  17. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. Did you ________________ the meat?
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. chest — a box
  3. spell — a short time
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. spell — letters
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. shower — rain
  8. spell — magic
  9. season — in sport
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. season — of the year
  12. fork — a garden tool
  13. shower — to wash
  14. board — a flat piece
  15. fork — to eat with
  16. cabinet — a cupboard
  17. board — to get on
  18. bat — the animal
  19. season — to add flavour
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. board — a committee
  23. fork — in a road
  24. chest — of your body

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