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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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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: court · rash · fork · bat · pitcher · shower · band · snap

  1. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. Don't do anything ________________.
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. He is an ace ________________.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  15. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  16. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. rash — hasty
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. fork — in a road
  6. shower — rain
  7. fork — to eat with
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. fork — a garden tool
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. court — of law
  12. pitcher — in baseball
  13. shower — to wash
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. rash — a series
  17. band — a ring
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. rash — on the skin
  21. bat — the animal
  22. court — for sport
  23. snap — to click
  24. band — a music group

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