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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: racket · band · bowl · row · cell · season · shower · spell

  1. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  13. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  14. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  20. How do you ________________ your surname?
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  23. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  24. Did you ________________ the meat?

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. bowl — a dish
  6. band — a music group
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. shower — to wash
  9. spell — magic
  10. shower — rain
  11. cell — in biology
  12. bowl — to roll
  13. season — of the year
  14. spell — a short time
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. cell — a phone
  17. season — in sport
  18. row — to paddle
  19. bowl — a football final
  20. spell — letters
  21. row — a line
  22. racket — a loud noise
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. season — to add flavour

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