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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: straw · band · fan · shower · rule · field · mate · squash

  1. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  4. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  5. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. Have you found your soul ________________?
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  23. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  24. Can you turn the ________________ on?

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. band — a ring
  3. squash — to crush
  4. mate — to breed
  5. rule — government
  6. shower — rain
  7. squash — the vegetable
  8. squash — the sport
  9. band — a music group
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. field — farmland
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. mate — a friend
  15. field — a subject
  16. mate — a partner
  17. shower — to wash
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. field — for sport
  22. rule — a law
  23. rule — to rule out
  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