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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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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: foot · shower · chair · court · suit · tear · deal · roll

  1. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  4. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. We're on a ________________ here.
  9. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  13. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  14. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. When will it ________________ you to start?
  19. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  20. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  21. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. tear — to rip
  3. suit — in cards
  4. deal — a big deal
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. court — for sport
  7. court — of a king
  8. roll — on a roll
  9. foot — part of the body
  10. chair — a leader
  11. court — of law
  12. suit — clothes
  13. foot — the bottom
  14. foot — a measure
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. roll — a list
  17. tear — from crying
  18. suit — to fit
  19. roll — a cake
  20. deal — an agreement
  21. deal — to handle
  22. tear — from crying
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. shower — rain

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