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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: bat · court · hand · safe · pop · shower · pound · drill

  1. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  3. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  4. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. You don't need to ________________ round.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. We're almost out of ________________.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  24. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. safe — out of danger
  3. pound — for dogs
  4. drill — the tool
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. safe — a strongbox
  7. shower — rain
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. court — of law
  10. bat — the animal
  11. pop — to visit
  12. court — of a king
  13. pop — soda
  14. hand — help
  15. pound — to hit hard
  16. court — for sport
  17. pop — music
  18. hand — in cards
  19. drill — army training
  20. shower — to wash
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. safe — out of danger
  23. drill — a practice
  24. pound — a weight

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