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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.

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: court · plane · ball · date · shower · file · cell · pitcher

  1. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. Have you settled on a ________________?
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  6. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  13. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  18. The King held a masked ________________.
  19. The ________________ took off on time.
  20. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. He is an ace ________________.
  23. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. file — a tool
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. cell — in biology
  5. plane — in geometry
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. shower — to wash
  8. file — a document
  9. court — for sport
  10. court — of law
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. date — the fruit
  13. ball — a round shape
  14. shower — rain
  15. ball — a great time
  16. file — a line of people
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. ball — a dance
  19. plane — an aircraft
  20. plane — a tool
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. pitcher — in baseball
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. court — of a king

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