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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: fall · pound · spell · fork · content · plane · court · shower

  1. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  2. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  3. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  4. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  5. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  6. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. The ________________ took off on time.
  11. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  19. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  24. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. fork — a garden tool
  3. plane — in geometry
  4. pound — a weight
  5. pound — to hit hard
  6. fork — in a road
  7. court — of law
  8. content — the amount
  9. court — of a king
  10. plane — an aircraft
  11. plane — a tool
  12. spell — letters
  13. pound — for dogs
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. spell — a short time
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. content — happy
  18. fork — to eat with
  19. spell — magic
  20. court — for sport
  21. shower — to wash
  22. shower — rain
  23. fall — the season
  24. fall — to drop

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