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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: kid · court · suit · chip · spring · shower · rest · pitcher

  1. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  10. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  11. He is an ace ________________.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  16. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. When will it ________________ you to start?
  20. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  21. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  22. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. Fill up this ________________ with water.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. spring — of water
  3. chip — for betting
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. shower — rain
  6. rest — a break
  7. shower — to wash
  8. spring — the season
  9. suit — clothes
  10. chip — to eat
  11. pitcher — in baseball
  12. court — of law
  13. court — of a king
  14. kid — child
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. rest — what's left
  17. spring — a coil
  18. kid — to tease
  19. suit — to fit
  20. rest — what's left
  21. chip — in a computer
  22. suit — in cards
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. pitcher — a jug

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