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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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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 · firm · bore · wave · key · shower · sharp · mine

  1. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  6. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  11. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  12. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  13. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  16. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  17. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  18. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  19. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  20. This piece is in a major ________________.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. key — for a lock
  3. shower — rain
  4. court — of a king
  5. bore — gave birth
  6. bore — to tire
  7. shower — to wash
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. mine — for digging
  10. firm — a company
  11. wave — with your hand
  12. key — the most important part
  13. firm — decided
  14. court — for sport
  15. firm — steady
  16. bore — to drill
  17. sharp — with an edge
  18. wave — a sudden rise
  19. sharp — clever
  20. key — in music
  21. court — of law
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. wave — of the sea

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