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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: track · bowl · last · squash · shower · pop · fan · field

  1. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  5. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  6. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  7. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  8. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. You don't need to ________________ round.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  16. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  17. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  18. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  19. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  20. We're almost out of ________________.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. last — to go on
  3. shower — rain
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. squash — the sport
  6. bowl — a football final
  7. bowl — to roll
  8. squash — the vegetable
  9. last — final
  10. pop — to visit
  11. field — farmland
  12. field — for sport
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. field — a subject
  15. bowl — a dish
  16. track — a song
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. pop — music
  19. track — a path
  20. pop — soda
  21. shower — to wash
  22. track — to keep track
  23. last — finally
  24. squash — to crush

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