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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: pitcher · land · rock · hide · shower · court · rule · scale

  1. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  11. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  12. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  15. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  16. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  19. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  20. He is an ace ________________.
  21. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  22. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  23. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. court — of a king
  3. hide — animal skin
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. shower — to wash
  6. court — of law
  7. shower — rain
  8. scale — in music
  9. land — ground
  10. rock — a stone
  11. rule — government
  12. rock — music
  13. court — for sport
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. rock — to move gently
  16. rule — a law
  17. land — to come down
  18. rule — to rule out
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. pitcher — in baseball
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. scale — for weighing
  23. scale — size or range
  24. land — a country

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