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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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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. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  2. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  5. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  6. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  9. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  10. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. That must've been a ________________.
  13. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. The King held a masked ________________.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. pass — a permit
  3. hand — in cards
  4. ball — a round shape
  5. rest — what's left
  6. rest — a break
  7. court — for sport
  8. pass — to succeed
  9. rush — to hurry
  10. rush — hurry
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. rush — a thrill
  13. trunk — of a car
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. trunk — of an elephant
  16. wound — an injury
  17. pass — to spend time
  18. court — of law
  19. hand — help
  20. ball — a dance
  21. wound — an injury
  22. court — of a king
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. ball — a great time

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