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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: court · spell · scale · kid · safe · stick · shower · wound

  1. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  3. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  18. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. safe — out of danger
  3. safe — a strongbox
  4. spell — magic
  5. scale — size or range
  6. wound — an injury
  7. kid — to tease
  8. wound — an injury
  9. safe — out of danger
  10. kid — child
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. spell — letters
  13. shower — to wash
  14. court — for sport
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. shower — rain
  17. stick — to attach or keep to
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. scale — in music
  21. court — of a king
  22. spell — a short time
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. stick — a piece of wood

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