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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: cold · rock · game · mouse · shower · court · track · stem

  1. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  7. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  8. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  9. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  13. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  17. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — to move gently
  2. game — wild animals
  3. cold — an illness
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. court — of law
  6. stem — a stem cell
  7. rock — a stone
  8. mouse — for a computer
  9. rock — music
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. track — to keep track
  13. track — a song
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. shower — rain
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. game — a match
  19. court — of a king
  20. cold — not warm
  21. court — for sport
  22. stem — to come from
  23. shower — to wash
  24. track — a path

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