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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: tube · shower · court · spring · kick · mug · wind · firm

  1. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. Where did you ________________ them?
  3. I'll be taking the ________________.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  7. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  15. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  18. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  19. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  23. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. mug — to rob
  3. tube — the underground
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. spring — the season
  6. mug — a face
  7. firm — a company
  8. shower — to wash
  9. court — of a king
  10. spring — of water
  11. court — of law
  12. kick — with a leg
  13. wind — moving air
  14. firm — steady
  15. tube — in a tire
  16. spring — a coil
  17. mug — a cup
  18. kick — in football
  19. kick — a thrill
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. shower — rain
  22. firm — decided
  23. tube — a container
  24. wind — moving air

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