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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: stick · file · pass · shower · kick · roll · mine · court

  1. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  5. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  14. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  20. We're on a ________________ here.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. pass — a permit
  3. kick — a thrill
  4. kick — in football
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. file — a line of people
  7. shower — to wash
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. file — a tool
  10. court — of law
  11. shower — rain
  12. file — a document
  13. pass — to succeed
  14. stick — to attach or keep to
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. court — of a king
  17. roll — a cake
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. kick — with a leg
  20. roll — on a roll
  21. mine — for digging
  22. roll — a list
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. pass — to spend time

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