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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: game · pit · row · trunk · foot · spring · court · shower

  1. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  3. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  22. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a line
  2. pit — a hole
  3. foot — the bottom
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. trunk — of an elephant
  6. court — of law
  7. shower — rain
  8. spring — the season
  9. trunk — of a tree
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. game — a match
  13. foot — a measure
  14. game — wild animals
  15. court — of a king
  16. pit — in a race
  17. spring — a coil
  18. spring — of water
  19. trunk — of a car
  20. shower — to wash
  21. foot — part of the body
  22. pit — a fruit stone
  23. court — for sport
  24. row — to paddle

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