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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 120 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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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: pound · racket · row · shower · court · kick · mouse · pit

  1. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  3. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  4. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  5. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  6. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  11. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  12. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  13. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  18. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  19. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  20. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  21. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. racket — a loud noise
  3. pound — for dogs
  4. kick — in football
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. pit — a fruit stone
  7. row — a line
  8. court — of a king
  9. row — to paddle
  10. pound — a weight
  11. mouse — the animal
  12. kick — with a leg
  13. pound — to hit hard
  14. shower — to wash
  15. court — of law
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. mouse — for a computer
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. pit — a hole
  20. kick — a thrill
  21. mouse — the animal
  22. court — for sport
  23. pit — in a race
  24. shower — rain

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