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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 120 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 · plane · clip · court · cabinet · rush · wound · shower

  1. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. That must've been a ________________.
  5. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  6. The ________________ took off on time.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. What do you think of the new ________________?
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  15. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  22. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. Take your time. There's no ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. rush — to hurry
  3. court — for sport
  4. rush — a thrill
  5. cabinet — a cupboard
  6. plane — an aircraft
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. fork — to eat with
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. clip — to cut
  11. clip — a video
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. court — of law
  14. plane — in geometry
  15. plane — a tool
  16. shower — to wash
  17. fork — a garden tool
  18. wound — an injury
  19. clip — for paper
  20. shower — rain
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. fork — in a road
  23. wound — an injury
  24. rush — hurry

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