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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 116 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: field · fan · shower · kid · cell · hand · board · scale

  1. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  2. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  8. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  14. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  17. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. shower — a meteor shower
  2. cell — in biology
  3. field — for sport
  4. kid — child
  5. scale — size or range
  6. shower — to wash
  7. scale — for weighing
  8. fan — to cool the air
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. field — a subject
  11. board — a committee
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. board — a flat piece
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. cell — a phone
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. scale — in music
  18. hand — in cards
  19. board — to get on
  20. field — farmland
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. kid — to tease
  23. shower — rain
  24. hand — help

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