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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 120 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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  5. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  6. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  9. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  10. Did you ________________ the meat?
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  13. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  18. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  21. That must've been a ________________.
  22. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  23. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  24. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. row — a line
  3. hand — in cards
  4. rest — what's left
  5. racket — a loud noise
  6. season — of the year
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. rush — to hurry
  9. rush — hurry
  10. season — to add flavour
  11. row — to paddle
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. rest — a break
  14. court — of law
  15. court — for sport
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. mark — a grade
  18. mark — to pay attention
  19. court — of a king
  20. mark — a trace
  21. rush — a thrill
  22. season — in sport
  23. rest — what's left
  24. racket — for tennis

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