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

Word bank: club · rule · game · mouse · hand · rash · rest · pit

  1. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  2. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  5. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  6. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  7. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  8. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  13. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  14. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  21. Don't do anything ________________.
  22. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  23. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  24. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — a break
  2. club — for dancing
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. pit — in a race
  5. rest — what's left
  6. mouse — for a computer
  7. rule — to rule out
  8. pit — a hole
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. hand — help
  12. mouse — the animal
  13. rule — government
  14. club — a group
  15. game — wild animals
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. rule — a law
  18. hand — in cards
  19. game — a match
  20. rash — a series
  21. rash — hasty
  22. pit — a fruit stone
  23. rest — what's left
  24. club — for golf

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