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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: ground · game · race · court · lie · can · shower · wave

  1. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  3. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  4. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  8. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  22. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. wave — of the sea
  3. can — a tin
  4. wave — with your hand
  5. ground — crushed
  6. shower — rain
  7. wave — a sudden rise
  8. can — a tin
  9. race — the arms race
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. race — humankind
  12. lie — to recline
  13. game — a match
  14. shower — to wash
  15. ground — a position
  16. court — for sport
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. court — of law
  19. game — wild animals
  20. court — of a king
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. can — to be able to
  23. ground — the earth
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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