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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: rash · shower · tube · pitch · mouse · racket · degree · court

  1. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  5. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  6. I'll be taking the ________________.
  7. Don't do anything ________________.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  14. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  15. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  16. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  19. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  23. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. shower — rain
  3. degree — from a university
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. tube — the underground
  7. rash — hasty
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. shower — to wash
  10. degree — temperature
  11. pitch — a sports field
  12. court — for sport
  13. tube — a container
  14. pitch — completely
  15. mouse — for a computer
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. rash — a series
  18. rash — on the skin
  19. racket — a loud noise
  20. degree — an amount
  21. court — of law
  22. pitch — a sales talk
  23. tube — in a tire
  24. court — of a king

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