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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: chip · fan · shower · season · wake · roll · stick · last

  1. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  8. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  9. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  12. We're on a ________________ here.
  13. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  14. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  15. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  16. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  19. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  20. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  21. Did you ________________ the meat?
  22. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. last — to go on
  3. season — of the year
  4. shower — to wash
  5. shower — rain
  6. last — final
  7. chip — to eat
  8. stick — to attach or keep to
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. season — in sport
  11. fan — to cool the air
  12. roll — on a roll
  13. roll — a cake
  14. wake — before a funeral
  15. wake — to stop sleeping
  16. chip — for betting
  17. last — finally
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. chip — in a computer
  20. roll — a list
  21. season — to add flavour
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. wake — a trail

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