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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  5. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  6. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  7. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  8. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  9. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. I can't ________________ this cold.
  14. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  15. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  16. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. shower — rain
  3. shower — to wash
  4. bowl — to roll
  5. bore — to tire
  6. kick — in football
  7. kick — with a leg
  8. kick — a thrill
  9. bowl — a football final
  10. court — for sport
  11. stand — for spectators
  12. court — of law
  13. stand — to bear
  14. bore — to drill
  15. bore — gave birth
  16. stand — on your feet
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. court — of a king

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