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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: kid · march · pitcher · ground · court · shower · safe · season

  1. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  5. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. Did you ________________ the meat?
  16. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. He is an ace ________________.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. There's no middle ________________.
  24. Add some ________________ pepper to it.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. march — the month
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. safe — out of danger
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. ground — the earth
  7. season — in sport
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. march — music
  11. kid — child
  12. shower — rain
  13. season — of the year
  14. court — for sport
  15. season — to add flavour
  16. safe — a strongbox
  17. march — the month
  18. pitcher — in baseball
  19. kid — to tease
  20. safe — out of danger
  21. court — of law
  22. shower — to wash
  23. ground — a position
  24. ground — crushed

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