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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: ball · shower · drill · court · ground · rash · bowl · clip

  1. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  2. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  3. Don't do anything ________________.
  4. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. The King held a masked ________________.
  7. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  11. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — rain
  2. drill — the tool
  3. rash — hasty
  4. ball — a round shape
  5. clip — for paper
  6. ball — a dance
  7. ball — a great time
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. drill — a practice
  10. rash — on the skin
  11. bowl — to roll
  12. clip — to cut
  13. ground — the earth
  14. court — of a king
  15. court — of law
  16. court — for sport
  17. ground — crushed
  18. ground — a position
  19. bowl — a dish
  20. shower — to wash
  21. rash — a series
  22. drill — army training
  23. clip — a video
  24. bowl — a football final

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