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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: craft · sharp · ball · stem · chest · fan · bat · shower

  1. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  2. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  3. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  4. It's one o'clock ________________.
  5. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  9. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  10. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  19. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  20. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  21. The King held a masked ________________.
  22. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  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. sharp — clever
  2. stem — of a plant
  3. craft — a handicraft
  4. sharp — exactly
  5. stem — a stem cell
  6. shower — rain
  7. stem — to come from
  8. fan — to cool the air
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. ball — a great time
  11. bat — the animal
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. chest — a box
  14. chest — of your body
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. chest — of your body
  17. shower — to wash
  18. ball — a round shape
  19. sharp — with an edge
  20. craft — boats
  21. ball — a dance
  22. craft — a skill
  23. bat — in an idiom
  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