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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 120 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: club · sharp · rock · fan · shower · cell · pit · pound

  1. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  2. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  5. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  6. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  7. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  8. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  9. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  10. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  11. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  14. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  15. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  16. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  17. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  18. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  19. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  24. It's one o'clock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a fruit stone
  2. cell — in biology
  3. shower — to wash
  4. club — for golf
  5. rock — to move gently
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. pit — a hole
  8. club — a group
  9. rock — a stone
  10. rock — music
  11. club — for dancing
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. sharp — clever
  15. pound — to hit hard
  16. pound — a weight
  17. pit — in a race
  18. pound — for dogs
  19. fan — to cool the air
  20. shower — rain
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. cell — a phone
  24. sharp — exactly

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