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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
468
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 · cabinet · toast · field · roll · fine · court · kick

  1. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  2. What do you think of the new ________________?
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  7. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  8. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  9. We're on a ________________ here.
  10. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  11. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  16. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  21. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  22. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — a drink to someone
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. court — of a king
  4. toast — bread
  5. field — a subject
  6. fine — high quality
  7. kick — in football
  8. cabinet — a cupboard
  9. roll — on a roll
  10. roll — a cake
  11. fine — a penalty
  12. field — farmland
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. court — for sport
  15. kick — a thrill
  16. roll — a list
  17. shower — to wash
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. court — of law
  20. fine — all right
  21. toast — the most admired
  22. kick — with a leg
  23. shower — rain
  24. field — 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