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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 120 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: kid · shower · hand · racket · pop · fan · field · dip

  1. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  2. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  11. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  12. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  13. We're almost out of ________________.
  14. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. You don't need to ________________ round.
  18. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  23. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  24. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — rain
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. hand — in cards
  4. fan — to cool the air
  5. kid — to tease
  6. shower — to wash
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. field — a subject
  10. pop — music
  11. dip — to sink
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. pop — soda
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. kid — child
  16. hand — help
  17. pop — to visit
  18. dip — to dunk
  19. field — for sport
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. field — farmland
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. dip — a sauce
  24. racket — a loud noise

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