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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: fork · bore · cabinet · cell · rush · court · arm · shower

  1. That must've been a ________________.
  2. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  3. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  4. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. What do you think of the new ________________?
  8. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  11. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  12. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  13. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  14. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  22. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. My father caught me by the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — a thrill
  2. rush — hurry
  3. fork — in a road
  4. bore — gave birth
  5. shower — to wash
  6. court — of law
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. bore — to tire
  9. court — for sport
  10. arm — a part of something
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. bore — to drill
  14. fork — to eat with
  15. shower — rain
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. cabinet — a cupboard
  18. court — of a king
  19. fork — a garden tool
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. cell — a phone
  22. rush — to hurry
  23. cell — in biology
  24. arm — part of the body

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