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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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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: club · pit · fall · shower · content · lean · key · court

  1. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  4. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  5. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  6. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  7. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. This piece is in a major ________________.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  20. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  21. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  22. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  23. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  24. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. shower — to wash
  3. lean — thin
  4. pit — a hole
  5. key — for a lock
  6. fall — to drop
  7. club — for dancing
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. pit — a fruit stone
  10. fall — to drop
  11. shower — rain
  12. court — of a king
  13. content — the amount
  14. pit — in a race
  15. court — of law
  16. key — in music
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. content — happy
  19. club — for golf
  20. key — the most important part
  21. fall — the season
  22. lean — to bend
  23. club — a group
  24. lean — to rest against

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