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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 116 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 · net · saw · rule · shower · cabinet · bowl · cold

  1. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. What do you think of the new ________________?
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  11. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  14. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  15. She's very handy with a ________________.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  18. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  19. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  20. He works in a ________________ mill.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. cold — an illness
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. shower — rain
  6. shower — to wash
  7. cold — not warm
  8. bowl — to roll
  9. net — for catching
  10. rule — to rule out
  11. rule — a law
  12. court — of law
  13. cabinet — a cupboard
  14. bowl — a dish
  15. saw — the tool
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. saw — past of 'see'
  18. rule — government
  19. bowl — a football final
  20. saw — the tool
  21. court — of a king
  22. net — in sport
  23. net — after costs
  24. court — for sport

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