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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 124 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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Word bank
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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: racket · shower · date · court · pound · root

  1. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  4. Have you settled on a ________________?
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  7. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  12. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  13. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  14. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  15. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  18. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. court — of law
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. court — for sport
  6. date — the fruit
  7. root — of a plant
  8. shower — rain
  9. pound — for dogs
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. root — of a word
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. pound — to hit hard
  14. root — the cause
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. court — of a king
  17. racket — a loud noise
  18. pound — a weight

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