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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: rock · court · can · roll · fork · shower · fan · lash

  1. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  6. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  11. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  12. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  15. We're on a ________________ here.
  16. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  19. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  20. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  21. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  22. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  23. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  24. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.

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

Answer key

  1. can — to be able to
  2. shower — rain
  3. fork — a garden tool
  4. shower — to wash
  5. rock — music
  6. can — a tin
  7. court — of law
  8. lash — an eyelash
  9. court — of a king
  10. lash — to lash out
  11. rock — to move gently
  12. lash — a whip stroke
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. fork — in a road
  15. roll — on a roll
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. court — for sport
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. fan — to cool the air
  20. roll — a cake
  21. can — a tin
  22. rock — a stone
  23. fork — to eat with
  24. roll — a list

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