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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: can · bowl · cold · court · present · mug · shower · roll

  1. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  2. Where did you ________________ them?
  3. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  8. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  9. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  10. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  18. We're on a ________________ here.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  23. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  24. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a football final
  2. mug — to rob
  3. mug — a cup
  4. court — of a king
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. court — for sport
  7. bowl — a dish
  8. can — a tin
  9. roll — a cake
  10. present — there
  11. shower — to wash
  12. bowl — to roll
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. cold — an illness
  15. present — a gift
  16. shower — rain
  17. roll — a list
  18. roll — on a roll
  19. court — of law
  20. can — to be able to
  21. cold — not warm
  22. can — a tin
  23. mug — a face
  24. present — the time now

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