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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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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 · dip · scale · bat · wind · court · rule · row

  1. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  2. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  3. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  6. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  7. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to sink
  2. dip — a sauce
  3. rule — government
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. scale — size or range
  6. row — to paddle
  7. rule — to rule out
  8. shower — to wash
  9. rule — a law
  10. bat — the animal
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. court — of a king
  13. shower — rain
  14. wind — moving air
  15. dip — to dunk
  16. court — of law
  17. wind — moving air
  18. scale — in music
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. scale — for weighing
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. row — a line
  24. court — for sport

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