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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: fork · court · rock · kick · lie · shower · spring · stand

  1. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  8. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  9. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  10. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  19. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  20. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  21. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  22. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  23. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  24. I can't ________________ this cold.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. kick — with a leg
  3. kick — a thrill
  4. spring — of water
  5. court — of a king
  6. spring — a coil
  7. rock — music
  8. fork — a garden tool
  9. lie — to recline
  10. rock — a stone
  11. court — of law
  12. stand — for spectators
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. fork — to eat with
  15. shower — rain
  16. spring — the season
  17. court — for sport
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. rock — to move gently
  20. fork — in a road
  21. stand — on your feet
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. kick — in football
  24. stand — to bear

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