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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: shower · trunk · court · spell · wound · charge · fall · mate

  1. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  10. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  11. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  12. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  13. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  19. Have you found your soul ________________?
  20. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. The tickets are free of ________________.
  23. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. wound — an injury
  3. spell — a short time
  4. shower — rain
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. mate — to breed
  7. court — for sport
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. fall — to drop
  10. trunk — of a tree
  11. trunk — of an elephant
  12. fall — the season
  13. fall — to drop
  14. spell — letters
  15. charge — electricity
  16. court — of a king
  17. shower — to wash
  18. charge — in control
  19. mate — a partner
  20. trunk — of a car
  21. spell — magic
  22. charge — a price
  23. mate — a friend
  24. wound — an injury

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