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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: lash · cap · court · shower · pass · net · wake · chest

  1. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  6. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  10. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  11. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  14. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  17. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  18. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  23. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. net — for catching
  4. shower — rain
  5. lash — to lash out
  6. lash — a whip stroke
  7. court — of law
  8. court — for sport
  9. cap — of ice
  10. pass — to spend time
  11. wake — a trail
  12. chest — of your body
  13. cap — a lid
  14. pass — to succeed
  15. net — after costs
  16. wake — before a funeral
  17. lash — an eyelash
  18. pass — a permit
  19. shower — to wash
  20. net — in sport
  21. chest — a box
  22. cap — a hat
  23. wake — to stop sleeping
  24. court — of a king

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