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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 120 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: spell · shower · ground · wake · tube · present · season · court

  1. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  2. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. I'll be taking the ________________.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. Did you ________________ the meat?
  11. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  12. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  13. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  14. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  15. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  16. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  17. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  22. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  23. There's no middle ________________.
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — magic
  2. wake — to stop sleeping
  3. ground — crushed
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. spell — letters
  6. court — of law
  7. ground — the earth
  8. tube — the underground
  9. shower — rain
  10. season — to add flavour
  11. season — in sport
  12. tube — in a tire
  13. present — the time now
  14. present — there
  15. tube — a container
  16. wake — before a funeral
  17. present — a gift
  18. court — of a king
  19. court — for sport
  20. spell — a short time
  21. season — of the year
  22. wake — a trail
  23. ground — a position
  24. shower — to wash

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