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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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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: present · tear · court · shower · temple · lean · bowl · kid

  1. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  11. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  16. When was this ________________ built?
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  24. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — side of the head
  2. court — for sport
  3. present — there
  4. tear — from crying
  5. lean — to rest against
  6. court — of law
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. bowl — to roll
  9. kid — to tease
  10. lean — to bend
  11. present — a gift
  12. shower — rain
  13. shower — to wash
  14. tear — from crying
  15. bowl — a football final
  16. temple — a place of worship
  17. court — of a king
  18. lean — thin
  19. tear — to rip
  20. kid — child
  21. temple — a place of worship
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. present — the time now
  24. bowl — a dish

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