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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: shower · game · track · bowl · court · charge · mate · wax

  1. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. Have you found your soul ________________?
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  8. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  11. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  12. The tickets are free of ________________.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  19. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  20. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  21. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  22. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — to roll
  2. game — wild animals
  3. mate — a partner
  4. shower — rain
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. court — for sport
  7. track — to keep track
  8. wax — to grow
  9. court — of law
  10. charge — electricity
  11. track — a song
  12. charge — a price
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. bowl — a dish
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. game — a match
  18. track — a path
  19. charge — in control
  20. mate — a friend
  21. bowl — a football final
  22. mate — to breed
  23. court — of a king
  24. shower — to wash

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