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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: band · fine · game · stick · shower · ball · mine · row

  1. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  9. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. The King held a masked ________________.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — a penalty
  2. shower — to wash
  3. mine — for digging
  4. fine — all right
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. ball — a round shape
  7. shower — rain
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. stick — to attach or keep to
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. ball — a great time
  13. band — a music group
  14. row — to paddle
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. row — a line
  17. ball — a dance
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. game — wild animals
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. game — a match
  22. band — a ring
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. fine — high quality

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