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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 · bat · land · bowl · file · shower · rock · cell

  1. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  5. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  6. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a document
  2. bat — the animal
  3. land — a country
  4. rock — to move gently
  5. bowl — a dish
  6. rock — a stone
  7. land — to come down
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. shower — rain
  11. court — of law
  12. land — ground
  13. shower — to wash
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. bowl — to roll
  16. court — of a king
  17. file — a tool
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. cell — a phone
  20. rock — music
  21. cell — in biology
  22. file — a line of people
  23. court — for sport
  24. bowl — a football final

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