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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: shower · stick · dip · straw · rock · cold · mark · court

  1. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  2. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  17. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  18. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  19. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  23. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — to attach or keep to
  2. mark — a trace
  3. shower — to wash
  4. cold — not warm
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. mark — a grade
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. rock — music
  9. court — of law
  10. court — of a king
  11. dip — a sauce
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. cold — an illness
  14. rock — a stone
  15. shower — rain
  16. rock — to move gently
  17. dip — to dunk
  18. mark — to pay attention
  19. stick — a piece of wood
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. dip — to sink
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. court — for 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