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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: arm · shower · fan · band · patient · spring · pitch · date

  1. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  4. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  5. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  6. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  7. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  8. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  11. Have you settled on a ________________?
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  19. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  20. My father caught me by the ________________.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  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. band — a ring
  2. spring — of water
  3. pitch — a sports field
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. arm — a part of something
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. pitch — a sales talk
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. shower — rain
  13. pitch — completely
  14. spring — a coil
  15. patient — calm and waiting
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. spring — the season
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. fan — to cool the air
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. shower — to wash
  22. date — the fruit
  23. band — a music group
  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