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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. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. Don't do anything ________________.
  10. That was ________________ to happen.
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. The tickets are free of ________________.
  20. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  21. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  22. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  23. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  24. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — rain
  2. band — a music group
  3. court — of a king
  4. cold — not warm
  5. court — of law
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. court — for sport
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. rash — hasty
  10. bound — certain
  11. spell — a short time
  12. spell — letters
  13. shower — to wash
  14. cold — an illness
  15. spell — magic
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. band — a ring
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. charge — a price
  20. charge — in control
  21. bound — obliged
  22. charge — electricity
  23. bound — tied together
  24. rash — a series

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