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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 120 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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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: ground · dip · rest · chip · snap · ball · court · shower

  1. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  6. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  7. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  11. The King held a masked ________________.
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  14. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  15. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  16. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  19. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  20. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  21. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — in a computer
  2. court — of a king
  3. ground — a position
  4. court — for sport
  5. chip — to eat
  6. rest — what's left
  7. dip — a sauce
  8. snap — to click
  9. shower — rain
  10. dip — to dunk
  11. ball — a dance
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. ball — a great time
  14. ball — a round shape
  15. rest — a break
  16. dip — to sink
  17. shower — to wash
  18. snap — to speak sharply
  19. ground — crushed
  20. chip — for betting
  21. rest — what's left
  22. court — of law
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. ground — the earth

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