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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: kid · bank · march · fork · pitcher · court · face · shower

  1. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  13. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  14. He is an ace ________________.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  18. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  21. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. shower — rain
  3. bank — of a river
  4. court — of law
  5. face — to confront
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. kid — to tease
  8. march — the month
  9. court — of a king
  10. face — to point toward
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. face — part of the head
  13. bank — for money
  14. pitcher — in baseball
  15. shower — to wash
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. bank — for money
  18. fork — a garden tool
  19. kid — child
  20. fork — to eat with
  21. fork — in a road
  22. court — for sport
  23. march — the month
  24. march — music

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