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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 116 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: drill · club · spring · racket · cue · field · shower · wave

  1. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  3. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  9. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  10. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  11. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  12. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  18. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  19. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  24. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. cue — a hint
  3. racket — a loud noise
  4. spring — of water
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. field — farmland
  7. spring — the season
  8. cue — a signal
  9. drill — army training
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. club — for golf
  12. wave — with your hand
  13. field — for sport
  14. club — a group
  15. shower — rain
  16. field — a subject
  17. drill — a practice
  18. drill — the tool
  19. wave — of the sea
  20. shower — to wash
  21. cue — for pool
  22. spring — a coil
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. wave — a sudden rise

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