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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: shower · court · ball · key · ground · press · bear · land

  1. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  3. Did you ________________ the button?
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. The King held a masked ________________.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  12. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. This piece is in a major ________________.
  16. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  17. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  22. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  23. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. ball — a round shape
  3. press — to push
  4. land — to come down
  5. shower — rain
  6. bear — the animal
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. land — a country
  9. ball — a dance
  10. land — ground
  11. bear — the animal
  12. press — a publisher
  13. ground — a position
  14. ground — the earth
  15. key — in music
  16. ball — a great time
  17. press — newspapers
  18. ground — crushed
  19. court — of a king
  20. court — for sport
  21. key — the most important part
  22. key — for a lock
  23. bear — to put up with
  24. court — of law

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