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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
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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: chip · toast · leaves · shower · hand · mine · court · wind

  1. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  10. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  14. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. The train ________________ at six o'clock.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. wind — moving air
  3. toast — a drink to someone
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. chip — for betting
  6. wind — moving air
  7. toast — bread
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. leaves — lets stay
  10. chip — to eat
  11. shower — to wash
  12. hand — in cards
  13. toast — the most admired
  14. chip — in a computer
  15. court — of a king
  16. leaves — of a tree
  17. shower — rain
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. hand — help
  21. court — for sport
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. court — of law
  24. leaves — to go away

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