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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
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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: net · current · kid · temple · court · kick · season · shower

  1. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  2. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. Did you ________________ the meat?
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. When was this ________________ built?
  9. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  21. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  22. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. current — electric
  3. court — for sport
  4. temple — side of the head
  5. kid — child
  6. season — to add flavour
  7. court — of law
  8. temple — a place of worship
  9. kick — in football
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. kid — to tease
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. shower — to wash
  14. season — of the year
  15. current — happening now
  16. shower — rain
  17. kick — a thrill
  18. court — of a king
  19. net — for catching
  20. current — of water
  21. season — in sport
  22. kick — with a leg
  23. net — after costs
  24. net — in 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