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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: pop · fan · ball · land · bat · tube · shower · lie

  1. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. I'll be taking the ________________.
  10. The King held a masked ________________.
  11. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  12. We're almost out of ________________.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  17. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  20. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  21. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  22. You don't need to ________________ round.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. shower — to wash
  3. fan — to cool the air
  4. bat — the animal
  5. tube — a container
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. shower — rain
  9. tube — the underground
  10. ball — a dance
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. pop — soda
  13. land — to come down
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. land — a country
  16. ball — a great time
  17. tube — in a tire
  18. land — ground
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. lie — to recline
  21. ball — a round shape
  22. pop — to visit
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. pop — music

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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