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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 120 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 · bat · rash · land · club · firm · ball · present

  1. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  2. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  3. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  13. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  14. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  15. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  16. Don't do anything ________________.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  20. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  21. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. The King held a masked ________________.
  24. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.

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

Answer key

  1. club — a group
  2. ball — a round shape
  3. firm — steady
  4. land — ground
  5. club — for dancing
  6. land — a country
  7. shower — rain
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. present — the time now
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. firm — a company
  13. ball — a great time
  14. rash — on the skin
  15. rash — a series
  16. rash — hasty
  17. shower — to wash
  18. bat — the animal
  19. present — a gift
  20. firm — decided
  21. club — for golf
  22. land — to come down
  23. ball — a dance
  24. present — there

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