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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: pitcher · current · pit · kid · club · cap · shower · court

  1. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  14. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  17. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  18. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  19. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  20. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. current — of water
  3. shower — to wash
  4. court — of a king
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. club — for golf
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. court — of law
  11. club — a group
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. current — happening now
  14. cap — a hat
  15. shower — rain
  16. current — electric
  17. cap — of ice
  18. pit — a fruit stone
  19. club — for dancing
  20. pit — in a race
  21. kid — to tease
  22. pit — a hole
  23. kid — child
  24. cap — a lid

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