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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: rule · shower · wound · drill · ball · court · date · race

  1. Have you settled on a ________________?
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. The King held a masked ________________.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  15. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  16. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. court — of law
  3. drill — the tool
  4. drill — army training
  5. shower — to wash
  6. rule — to rule out
  7. race — the arms race
  8. race — humankind
  9. ball — a dance
  10. wound — an injury
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. ball — a round shape
  13. drill — a practice
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. ball — a great time
  16. date — the fruit
  17. wound — an injury
  18. race — a contest
  19. rule — a law
  20. court — of a king
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. rule — government
  23. court — for sport
  24. shower — rain

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