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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 120 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: sharp · key · shower · court · club · dip · tear · stem

  1. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. This piece is in a major ________________.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  11. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  14. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  17. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  18. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  19. It's one o'clock ________________.
  20. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — rain
  2. court — for sport
  3. club — for golf
  4. dip — to dunk
  5. court — of a king
  6. sharp — clever
  7. key — in music
  8. tear — from crying
  9. stem — to come from
  10. dip — a sauce
  11. stem — a stem cell
  12. shower — to wash
  13. stem — of a plant
  14. club — for dancing
  15. tear — from crying
  16. club — a group
  17. sharp — with an edge
  18. dip — to sink
  19. sharp — exactly
  20. key — the most important part
  21. tear — to rip
  22. key — for a lock
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. court — of law

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