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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: hand · march · current · cabinet · firm · band · shower · court

  1. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  16. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  23. What do you think of the new ________________?
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. court — of law
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. march — the month
  5. firm — decided
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. march — the month
  8. current — electric
  9. march — music
  10. firm — steady
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. hand — in cards
  14. band — a music group
  15. firm — a company
  16. current — of water
  17. band — a ring
  18. current — happening now
  19. hand — help
  20. court — of a king
  21. shower — rain
  22. cabinet — a cupboard
  23. cabinet — ministers
  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