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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: season · sharp · file · court · dip · shower · bowl · swing

  1. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  2. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  3. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  4. David sat on the ________________.
  5. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  8. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  12. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  20. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  21. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  22. Did you ________________ the meat?
  23. It's one o'clock ________________.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — clever
  2. bowl — to roll
  3. season — of the year
  4. swing — to play on
  5. swing — in golf
  6. court — of law
  7. swing — music
  8. dip — to sink
  9. file — a tool
  10. court — for sport
  11. bowl — a dish
  12. season — in sport
  13. court — of a king
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. shower — rain
  17. file — a document
  18. shower — to wash
  19. dip — a sauce
  20. dip — to dunk
  21. bowl — a football final
  22. season — to add flavour
  23. sharp — exactly
  24. file — a line of people

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