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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: present · pass · court · shower · field · tube · mate · stand

  1. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  8. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  12. Have you found your soul ________________?
  13. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  14. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  15. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. I can't ________________ this cold.
  18. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  19. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  23. I'll be taking the ________________.
  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. present — a gift
  2. shower — to wash
  3. mate — a friend
  4. field — for sport
  5. stand — on your feet
  6. court — of law
  7. pass — a permit
  8. tube — a container
  9. shower — rain
  10. field — a subject
  11. present — the time now
  12. mate — a partner
  13. present — there
  14. pass — to spend time
  15. mate — to breed
  16. court — for sport
  17. stand — to bear
  18. stand — for spectators
  19. pass — to succeed
  20. court — of a king
  21. field — farmland
  22. tube — in a tire
  23. tube — the underground
  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