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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: fan · field · shower · bass · object · dip · track · row

  1. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  5. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  6. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  7. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  8. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  9. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  14. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  15. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  19. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  22. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  23. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  24. Can you turn the ________________ on?

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. row — a line
  3. shower — to wash
  4. bass — the fish
  5. dip — to sink
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. object — to protest
  8. bass — the instrument
  9. dip — to dunk
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. shower — rain
  12. field — for sport
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. bass — low music
  15. track — to keep track
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. row — to paddle
  18. dip — a sauce
  19. track — a song
  20. field — a subject
  21. track — a path
  22. object — a thing
  23. object — an aim
  24. fan — to cool the air

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