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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: court · game · nail · straw · shower · mouse · bulb · scale

  1. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  8. The light ________________ burned out.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. The ________________ went through the wall.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. I've got to change the light ________________.
  15. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  18. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  19. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. scale — size or range
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. scale — for weighing
  8. bulb — for light
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. shower — to wash
  14. bulb — for light
  15. bulb — of a plant
  16. court — of law
  17. scale — in music
  18. mouse — for a computer
  19. nail — on a finger
  20. shower — rain
  21. game — wild animals
  22. game — a match
  23. court — for sport
  24. mouse — the animal

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