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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: band · court · shower · bear · pitcher · degree · hide · craft

  1. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  13. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  14. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  15. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. bear — the animal
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. craft — a handicraft
  7. band — a ring
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. shower — rain
  10. court — for sport
  11. degree — temperature
  12. bear — the animal
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. bear — to put up with
  15. craft — a skill
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. band — a music group
  18. court — of a king
  19. degree — an amount
  20. hide — animal skin
  21. court — of law
  22. degree — from a university
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. craft — boats

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