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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: field · court · shower · can · pitch · rash · cabinet · drill

  1. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  7. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  11. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  12. What do you think of the new ________________?
  13. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  14. Don't do anything ________________.
  15. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  20. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  21. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  22. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — the tool
  2. court — of a king
  3. can — a tin
  4. field — a subject
  5. court — for sport
  6. rash — a series
  7. can — a tin
  8. field — for sport
  9. shower — rain
  10. drill — army training
  11. pitch — completely
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. can — to be able to
  14. rash — hasty
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. drill — a practice
  18. field — farmland
  19. pitch — a sales talk
  20. cabinet — a cupboard
  21. pitch — a sports field
  22. rash — on the skin
  23. court — of law
  24. shower — to wash

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