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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.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
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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: saw · wave · ball · shower · file · key · court · cold

  1. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. This piece is in a major ________________.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. He works in a ________________ mill.
  18. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  19. She's very handy with a ________________.
  20. The King held a masked ________________.
  21. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  24. Hard work is the ________________ to success.

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

Answer key

  1. key — for a lock
  2. court — of law
  3. wave — with your hand
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. key — in music
  6. court — of a king
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. wave — of the sea
  9. shower — to wash
  10. file — a line of people
  11. file — a tool
  12. wave — a sudden rise
  13. shower — rain
  14. cold — an illness
  15. file — a document
  16. court — for sport
  17. saw — the tool
  18. ball — a round shape
  19. saw — the tool
  20. ball — a dance
  21. ball — a great time
  22. cold — not warm
  23. saw — past of 'see'
  24. key — the most important part

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