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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: kid · bore · racket · shower · pit · court

  1. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  2. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  3. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  7. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  17. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  18. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — rain
  2. pit — in a race
  3. bore — gave birth
  4. court — for sport
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. racket — a loud noise
  7. pit — a hole
  8. court — of a king
  9. shower — to wash
  10. pit — a fruit stone
  11. kid — child
  12. court — of law
  13. bore — to tire
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. kid — to tease
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. bore — to drill

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