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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: court · stem · shower · game · wax · saw · drill · coach

  1. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. He works in a ________________ mill.
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  18. Have you met the new head ________________?
  19. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  20. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  21. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. She's very handy with a ________________.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. court — of law
  4. saw — past of 'see'
  5. court — for sport
  6. shower — rain
  7. game — wild animals
  8. coach — pulled by horses
  9. wax — to grow
  10. drill — army training
  11. game — a match
  12. saw — the tool
  13. drill — a practice
  14. court — of a king
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. shower — to wash
  17. stem — to come from
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. stem — of a plant
  20. wax — in the ear
  21. stem — a stem cell
  22. drill — the tool
  23. saw — the tool
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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