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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: cabinet · court · wound · lean · squash · content · pit · shower

  1. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  4. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  7. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  11. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  12. What do you think of the new ________________?
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  16. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  24. Boris sat near the fire ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. court — of a king
  3. cabinet — a cupboard
  4. lean — to bend
  5. court — for sport
  6. squash — the sport
  7. squash — to crush
  8. shower — to wash
  9. content — happy
  10. squash — the vegetable
  11. lean — to rest against
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. content — the amount
  15. lean — thin
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. pit — a fruit stone
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. pit — in a race
  21. court — of law
  22. shower — rain
  23. wound — an injury
  24. pit — a hole

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