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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 116 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: bat · saw · shower · wind · ball · ruler · court · cabinet

  1. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. She's very handy with a ________________.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. What do you think of the new ________________?
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. The King held a masked ________________.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  15. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  16. He works in a ________________ mill.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  19. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  22. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — a cupboard
  2. court — for sport
  3. court — of law
  4. saw — the tool
  5. bat — the animal
  6. shower — to wash
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. wind — moving air
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. ball — a dance
  12. shower — rain
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. ruler — a monarch
  15. ball — a great time
  16. saw — the tool
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. ruler — for measuring
  19. ball — a round shape
  20. court — of a king
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. saw — past of 'see'
  23. wind — moving air
  24. ruler — for measuring

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