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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: stick · ball · bass · band · shower · patient · court · cold

  1. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  6. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. The King held a masked ________________.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  13. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  16. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  24. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the fish
  2. shower — to wash
  3. band — a music group
  4. court — of a king
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. patient — calm and waiting
  7. shower — rain
  8. ball — a dance
  9. court — of law
  10. cold — not warm
  11. court — for sport
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. bass — the instrument
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. bass — low music
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. band — a ring
  18. stick — to attach or keep to
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. cold — an illness
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. ball — a round shape
  24. ball — a great time

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