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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 116 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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: hand · fall · lash · shower · pound · court

  1. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  2. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  3. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  14. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — the season
  2. pound — a weight
  3. pound — to hit hard
  4. hand — help
  5. shower — to wash
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. fall — to drop
  8. court — for sport
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. hand — in cards
  11. lash — a whip stroke
  12. fall — to drop
  13. lash — to lash out
  14. lash — an eyelash
  15. shower — rain
  16. court — of a king
  17. pound — for dogs
  18. court — of law

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