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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: shower · rock · patient · bat · game · field · fine · club

  1. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  4. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  7. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  10. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  13. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  14. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  15. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  22. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — rain
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. club — for dancing
  4. patient — calm and waiting
  5. game — a match
  6. rock — to move gently
  7. fine — high quality
  8. field — farmland
  9. fine — a penalty
  10. club — a group
  11. game — wild animals
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. fine — all right
  14. club — for golf
  15. rock — music
  16. field — for sport
  17. field — a subject
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. shower — to wash
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. rock — a stone
  23. bat — the animal
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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