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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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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: pitcher · straw · bay · face · season · roll · shower · court

  1. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  12. We're on a ________________ here.
  13. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  14. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  17. My mare is ________________ in color.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. Did you ________________ the meat?
  22. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  23. He is an ace ________________.
  24. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — a meteor shower
  2. court — for sport
  3. court — of law
  4. roll — a cake
  5. shower — to wash
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. roll — a list
  8. shower — rain
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. court — of a king
  11. season — of the year
  12. roll — on a roll
  13. bay — a part of the sea
  14. face — part of the head
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. bay — to keep at bay
  17. bay — a horse colour
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. face — to confront
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. season — to add flavour
  22. season — in sport
  23. pitcher — in baseball
  24. face — to point toward

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