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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. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. The King held a masked ________________.
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  12. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  15. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  18. David sat on the ________________.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  24. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — rain
  2. ball — a round shape
  3. court — of a king
  4. shower — to wash
  5. swing — music
  6. court — for sport
  7. ball — a dance
  8. ground — a position
  9. ground — the earth
  10. fall — to drop
  11. firm — a company
  12. firm — decided
  13. ground — crushed
  14. swing — in golf
  15. fall — the season
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. ball — a great time
  18. swing — to play on
  19. content — the amount
  20. firm — steady
  21. court — of law
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. fall — to drop
  24. content — happy

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