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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: plane · court · shower · hide · mine · spell · lie · bowl

  1. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  3. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  4. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  13. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  14. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. The ________________ took off on time.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. hide — animal skin
  5. spell — magic
  6. court — for sport
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. spell — letters
  9. lie — to recline
  10. mine — for digging
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. bowl — a dish
  13. bowl — to roll
  14. plane — a tool
  15. shower — rain
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. spell — a short time
  18. plane — in geometry
  19. shower — to wash
  20. bowl — a football final
  21. court — of law
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. plane — an aircraft
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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