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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: face · court · shower · net · fall · current · pitcher · temple

  1. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  6. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  12. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  13. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  14. When was this ________________ built?
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. He is an ace ________________.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  20. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  23. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. shower — rain
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. net — after costs
  5. face — part of the head
  6. current — electric
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. court — for sport
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. current — happening now
  12. current — of water
  13. face — to confront
  14. temple — a place of worship
  15. court — of law
  16. pitcher — in baseball
  17. fall — to drop
  18. net — in sport
  19. fall — to drop
  20. temple — side of the head
  21. net — for catching
  22. face — to point toward
  23. fall — the season
  24. shower — to wash

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