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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: scale · content · court · leaves · rock · bore · shower · cold

  1. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  5. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  11. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  12. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  15. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  19. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  20. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. cold — not warm
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. scale — in music
  5. scale — for weighing
  6. content — happy
  7. leaves — lets stay
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. content — the amount
  10. leaves — of a tree
  11. rock — to move gently
  12. bore — to tire
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. leaves — to go away
  15. rock — a stone
  16. court — of a king
  17. bore — gave birth
  18. scale — size or range
  19. bore — to drill
  20. rock — music
  21. court — for sport
  22. cold — an illness
  23. shower — to wash
  24. shower — rain

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