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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: pit · pitcher · shower · mine · hand · court · rush · rash

  1. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  10. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  15. That must've been a ________________.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  19. Don't do anything ________________.
  20. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. court — of law
  3. shower — to wash
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. mine — for digging
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. pit — a fruit stone
  10. rush — to hurry
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. rash — a series
  13. hand — help
  14. pit — a hole
  15. rush — a thrill
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. hand — in cards
  18. pit — in a race
  19. rash — hasty
  20. rush — hurry
  21. shower — rain
  22. rash — on the skin
  23. court — for sport
  24. mine — an explosive

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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