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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: shower · patient · spring · fall · bowl · pop · chip · court

  1. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  7. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  8. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  9. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  10. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  11. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  12. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  13. You don't need to ________________ round.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  19. We're almost out of ________________.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  23. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. spring — of water
  3. pop — music
  4. shower — rain
  5. spring — the season
  6. fall — to drop
  7. chip — in a computer
  8. chip — for betting
  9. chip — to eat
  10. patient — calm and waiting
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. bowl — a dish
  13. pop — to visit
  14. court — for sport
  15. fall — to drop
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. bowl — a football final
  19. pop — soda
  20. court — of a king
  21. court — of law
  22. fall — the season
  23. bowl — to roll
  24. spring — a coil

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