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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: bat · court · kick · suit · current · shower · roll · cabinet

  1. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  3. When will it ________________ you to start?
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  10. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  11. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  14. What do you think of the new ________________?
  15. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  16. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  17. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  20. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. We're on a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. current — of water
  3. suit — to fit
  4. court — of law
  5. court — of a king
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. shower — to wash
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. roll — a cake
  10. suit — clothes
  11. current — happening now
  12. court — for sport
  13. cabinet — a cupboard
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. roll — a list
  16. suit — in cards
  17. kick — in football
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. kick — with a leg
  20. current — electric
  21. bat — the animal
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. shower — rain
  24. roll — on a roll

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