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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: fine · field · drill · shower · court · lean · game · pass

  1. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  3. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  11. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  12. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. pass — a permit
  3. lean — to bend
  4. court — of a king
  5. shower — rain
  6. pass — to succeed
  7. shower — to wash
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. field — a subject
  10. fine — all right
  11. fine — a penalty
  12. pass — to spend time
  13. drill — a practice
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. game — a match
  16. field — for sport
  17. lean — thin
  18. game — wild animals
  19. drill — the tool
  20. fine — high quality
  21. field — farmland
  22. lean — to rest against
  23. court — of law
  24. drill — army training

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