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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 · cap · bark · face · shower · kid · club · net

  1. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  2. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  7. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  15. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  16. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  23. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — a meteor shower
  2. club — for golf
  3. cap — a hat
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. face — to point toward
  8. kid — to tease
  9. face — to confront
  10. shower — to wash
  11. cap — of ice
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. shower — rain
  14. cap — a lid
  15. club — for dancing
  16. face — part of the head
  17. kid — child
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. net — for catching
  20. net — after costs
  21. bark — to shout
  22. fan — to cool the air
  23. club — a group
  24. net — in sport

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