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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: cabinet · snap · board · hand · rule · court · bulb · chest

  1. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  4. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  13. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. The light ________________ burned out.
  18. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  19. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  20. I've got to change the light ________________.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. What do you think of the new ________________?
  23. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. court — of law
  3. bulb — of a plant
  4. board — a flat piece
  5. chest — of your body
  6. rule — government
  7. chest — of your body
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. snap — to click
  10. snap — to speak sharply
  11. hand — in cards
  12. rule — to rule out
  13. rule — a law
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. hand — help
  16. chest — a box
  17. bulb — for light
  18. board — to get on
  19. board — a committee
  20. bulb — for light
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. cabinet — a cupboard
  24. court — of a king

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