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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: march · firm · shower · mate · fan · cell · suit · bat

  1. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  14. When will it ________________ you to start?
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  20. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  24. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. mate — a partner
  3. mate — to breed
  4. cell — a phone
  5. mate — a friend
  6. march — music
  7. suit — in cards
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. firm — a company
  10. cell — in biology
  11. shower — to wash
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. fan — to cool the air
  14. suit — to fit
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. firm — decided
  17. bat — the animal
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. suit — clothes
  20. firm — steady
  21. march — the month
  22. shower — rain
  23. fan — a supporter
  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