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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 120 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: shower · nail · cell · mark · last · fine · stand · ball

  1. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  2. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  3. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  4. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  5. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  11. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  12. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. I can't ________________ this cold.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  20. The King held a masked ________________.
  21. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  22. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  23. The ________________ went through the wall.
  24. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — rain
  2. ball — a great time
  3. nail — on a finger
  4. mark — a grade
  5. fine — high quality
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. last — to go on
  9. last — final
  10. stand — for spectators
  11. fine — all right
  12. fine — a penalty
  13. cell — in biology
  14. stand — to bear
  15. cell — a phone
  16. last — finally
  17. mark — a trace
  18. shower — to wash
  19. ball — a round shape
  20. ball — a dance
  21. mark — to pay attention
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. stand — on your feet

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