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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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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: board · ground · cap · shower · scale · bat · court · perch

  1. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  2. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  12. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  20. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  23. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  24. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a lid
  2. scale — size or range
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. shower — rain
  6. board — a committee
  7. ground — crushed
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. board — to get on
  10. bat — the animal
  11. cap — a hat
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. court — for sport
  14. shower — to wash
  15. ground — a position
  16. court — of a king
  17. court — of law
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. cap — of ice
  20. scale — for weighing
  21. ground — the earth
  22. scale — in music
  23. board — a flat piece
  24. perch — the fish

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