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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 120 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 · hand · can · file · wind · pitch · leaves · court

  1. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  3. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  4. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  20. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  21. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. leaves — lets stay
  3. pitch — completely
  4. can — a tin
  5. file — a tool
  6. leaves — to go away
  7. court — of law
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. wind — moving air
  10. court — of a king
  11. file — a line of people
  12. hand — in cards
  13. shower — rain
  14. pitch — a sales talk
  15. file — a document
  16. court — for sport
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. wind — moving air
  19. can — a tin
  20. pitch — a sports field
  21. leaves — of a tree
  22. hand — help
  23. can — to be able to
  24. shower — to wash

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