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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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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 · cue · bay · cell · firm · field · fan · toast

  1. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  8. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  15. My mare is ________________ in color.
  16. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  17. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  18. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  19. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  20. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  21. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  22. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. field — a subject
  4. shower — rain
  5. firm — a company
  6. shower — to wash
  7. firm — steady
  8. toast — bread
  9. field — for sport
  10. field — farmland
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. cell — in biology
  13. cell — a phone
  14. firm — decided
  15. bay — a horse colour
  16. toast — a drink to someone
  17. cue — for pool
  18. bay — a part of the sea
  19. cue — a signal
  20. toast — the most admired
  21. cue — a hint
  22. bay — to keep at bay
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. fan — a supporter

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