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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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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: present · kick · field · sharp · mine · shower · jam · court

  1. It's one o'clock ________________.
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  4. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  18. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  19. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  22. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  23. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — exactly
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. present — a gift
  4. sharp — clever
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. court — of a king
  7. field — farmland
  8. shower — to wash
  9. jam — in traffic
  10. mine — for digging
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. court — for sport
  14. jam — to spread on bread
  15. field — a subject
  16. court — of law
  17. present — there
  18. present — the time now
  19. kick — in football
  20. field — for sport
  21. kick — with a leg
  22. jam — a tight spot
  23. kick — a thrill
  24. shower — rain

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