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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 · wave · spring · fine · object · last · mark · shower

  1. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  13. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  14. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  17. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  18. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  19. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  20. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  23. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — high quality
  2. shower — to wash
  3. court — of law
  4. wave — of the sea
  5. spring — of water
  6. last — final
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. spring — the season
  9. shower — rain
  10. last — finally
  11. court — for sport
  12. mark — to pay attention
  13. object — an aim
  14. fine — a penalty
  15. spring — a coil
  16. wave — a sudden rise
  17. fine — all right
  18. mark — a trace
  19. object — to protest
  20. object — a thing
  21. court — of a king
  22. mark — a grade
  23. wave — with your hand
  24. last — to go on

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