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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: rest · court · rule · hand · toast · fan

  1. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  2. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  8. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  11. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  12. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  13. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  14. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  17. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — government
  2. toast — the most admired
  3. court — of a king
  4. rest — a break
  5. hand — help
  6. court — for sport
  7. fan — to cool the air
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. rest — what's left
  11. toast — bread
  12. toast — a drink to someone
  13. rest — what's left
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. hand — in cards
  16. rule — to rule out
  17. rule — a law
  18. court — of law

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