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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 116 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 · shower · court · object · bound · fan · cold · racket

  1. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. That was ________________ to happen.
  10. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  11. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  12. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  13. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  14. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  18. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  19. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  24. He hit the ball with his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. court — of law
  4. object — to protest
  5. cold — an illness
  6. fan — to cool the air
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. bound — certain
  10. object — an aim
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. bound — tied together
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. shower — rain
  16. court — for sport
  17. racket — a loud noise
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. object — a thing
  20. cold — not warm
  21. shower — to wash
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. bound — obliged
  24. racket — for tennis

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