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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 · file · content · hand · roll · court · plane · mark

  1. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. We're on a ________________ here.
  4. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. The ________________ took off on time.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  24. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. hand — in cards
  3. roll — on a roll
  4. plane — in geometry
  5. shower — rain
  6. plane — an aircraft
  7. file — a tool
  8. plane — a tool
  9. content — happy
  10. file — a line of people
  11. file — a document
  12. court — of a king
  13. roll — a list
  14. court — of law
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. hand — help
  17. shower — to wash
  18. mark — to pay attention
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. mark — a grade
  22. court — for sport
  23. mark — a trace
  24. roll — a cake

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