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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: mark · date · cold · row · deal · club · fan · shower

  1. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  3. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  8. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  9. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  10. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  11. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  12. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  19. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  20. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  21. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  22. Have you settled on a ________________?
  23. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. deal — to handle
  3. club — for dancing
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. deal — an agreement
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. deal — a big deal
  8. club — a group
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. club — for golf
  11. mark — a trace
  12. mark — a grade
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. shower — to wash
  15. row — a line
  16. shower — rain
  17. row — to paddle
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. fan — to cool the air
  20. mark — to pay attention
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. date — the fruit
  24. cold — not warm

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