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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 116 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.

Words on the sheet
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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 · court · game · spell · pitcher · kick · club · vault

  1. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  10. He is an ace ________________.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  18. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  21. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. club — for dancing
  4. spell — letters
  5. court — of a king
  6. shower — rain
  7. vault — a safe
  8. spell — a short time
  9. kick — in football
  10. pitcher — in baseball
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. vault — in gymnastics
  13. game — wild animals
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. spell — magic
  16. shower — to wash
  17. club — a group
  18. kick — with a leg
  19. game — a match
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. vault — an arched ceiling
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. court — of law
  24. court — for sport

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