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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: shower · ball · saw · face · court · race · current · rock

  1. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  2. The King held a masked ________________.
  3. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  4. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  5. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  6. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  7. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. She's very handy with a ________________.
  18. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  19. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  20. He works in a ________________ mill.
  21. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. The kitten curled into a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. current — happening now
  2. ball — a dance
  3. rock — music
  4. race — the arms race
  5. current — electric
  6. saw — past of 'see'
  7. rock — to move gently
  8. court — of law
  9. rock — a stone
  10. race — humankind
  11. face — to confront
  12. race — a contest
  13. court — of a king
  14. face — part of the head
  15. shower — rain
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. saw — the tool
  18. ball — a great time
  19. current — of water
  20. saw — the tool
  21. face — to point toward
  22. court — for sport
  23. shower — to wash
  24. ball — a round shape

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