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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: court · shower · cabinet · wound · field · charge · last · pop

  1. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  8. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. The tickets are free of ________________.
  12. We're almost out of ________________.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. What do you think of the new ________________?
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. You don't need to ________________ round.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. charge — in control
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. court — of a king
  5. wound — an injury
  6. last — finally
  7. pop — music
  8. charge — electricity
  9. court — for sport
  10. shower — to wash
  11. charge — a price
  12. pop — soda
  13. last — final
  14. cabinet — a cupboard
  15. field — farmland
  16. field — for sport
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. court — of law
  19. field — a subject
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. shower — rain
  23. last — to go on
  24. pop — to visit

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