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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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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: cue · shower · mate · kick · perch · court · drill · stick

  1. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  6. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  7. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  8. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  9. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  10. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. Have you found your soul ________________?
  13. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  18. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  24. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. court — of law
  3. cue — for pool
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. perch — the fish
  6. stick — to attach or keep to
  7. mate — to breed
  8. cue — a signal
  9. kick — in football
  10. mate — a friend
  11. drill — army training
  12. mate — a partner
  13. kick — a thrill
  14. drill — the tool
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. shower — rain
  17. drill — a practice
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. court — for sport
  20. cue — a hint
  21. court — of a king
  22. kick — with a leg
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. stick — a piece of wood

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