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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: bowl · rash · net · court · cap · content · shower · spring

  1. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  4. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  19. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  20. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. bowl — a dish
  4. bowl — a football final
  5. rash — a series
  6. shower — rain
  7. net — for catching
  8. cap — of ice
  9. spring — a coil
  10. content — the amount
  11. court — for sport
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. net — after costs
  14. court — of law
  15. cap — a lid
  16. spring — the season
  17. court — of a king
  18. cap — a hat
  19. rash — on the skin
  20. bowl — to roll
  21. shower — to wash
  22. content — happy
  23. spring — of water
  24. net — in 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