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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 116 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: fan · pop · net · shower · wave · key · fine · ball

  1. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  2. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  3. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  4. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  5. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  6. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  10. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  11. This piece is in a major ________________.
  12. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  13. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  14. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. We're almost out of ________________.
  17. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. The King held a masked ________________.
  20. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  21. You don't need to ________________ round.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  24. The kitten curled into a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. pop — music
  3. ball — a great time
  4. key — the most important part
  5. fan — to cool the air
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. net — in sport
  8. shower — to wash
  9. fine — high quality
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. key — in music
  12. key — for a lock
  13. wave — with your hand
  14. fine — all right
  15. shower — rain
  16. pop — soda
  17. wave — a sudden rise
  18. net — for catching
  19. ball — a dance
  20. fine — a penalty
  21. pop — to visit
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. wave — of the sea
  24. ball — a round shape

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