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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: shower · toast · court · drill · hide · cold · stock · rock

  1. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  23. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  24. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. rock — to move gently
  3. cold — not warm
  4. hide — animal skin
  5. stock — shares
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. court — for sport
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. drill — a practice
  10. cold — an illness
  11. stock — a soup base
  12. drill — the tool
  13. toast — the most admired
  14. court — of a king
  15. shower — to wash
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. shower — rain
  18. rock — a stone
  19. drill — army training
  20. toast — bread
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. rock — music
  23. toast — a drink to someone
  24. stock — goods

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