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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: shower · ruler · pitcher · court · lean · pass · game · key

  1. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  10. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  11. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. This piece is in a major ________________.
  14. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  18. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?

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

Answer key

  1. pass — to succeed
  2. game — a match
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. key — the most important part
  5. shower — to wash
  6. ruler — for measuring
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. ruler — for measuring
  10. lean — thin
  11. pass — a permit
  12. court — for sport
  13. key — in music
  14. lean — to rest against
  15. game — wild animals
  16. shower — rain
  17. lean — to bend
  18. pass — to spend time
  19. court — of law
  20. ruler — a monarch
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. court — of a king
  24. key — for a lock

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