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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: rush · club · scale · shower · swing · bowl · tear · court

  1. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  6. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  9. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. David sat on the ________________.
  12. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  13. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  14. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  17. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  20. That must've been a ________________.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. court — for sport
  3. scale — in music
  4. court — of law
  5. bowl — a dish
  6. club — a group
  7. tear — from crying
  8. bowl — to roll
  9. swing — in golf
  10. shower — to wash
  11. swing — to play on
  12. rush — to hurry
  13. rush — hurry
  14. swing — music
  15. tear — from crying
  16. club — for dancing
  17. bowl — a football final
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. scale — for weighing
  20. rush — a thrill
  21. shower — rain
  22. scale — size or range
  23. tear — to rip
  24. club — for golf

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