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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: band · shower · fine · scale · mug · bat · spring · stand

  1. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  3. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  4. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  5. Where did you ________________ them?
  6. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  12. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. I can't ________________ this cold.
  21. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. He refilled his coffee ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. stand — for spectators
  3. fine — a penalty
  4. mug — a face
  5. mug — to rob
  6. scale — in music
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. spring — of water
  9. scale — for weighing
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. fine — high quality
  12. scale — size or range
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. band — a music group
  15. shower — rain
  16. spring — a coil
  17. fine — all right
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. bat — the animal
  20. stand — to bear
  21. stand — on your feet
  22. spring — the season
  23. band — a ring
  24. mug — a cup

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