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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: march · hand · court · squash · rash · board · foot · row

  1. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  5. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  6. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  7. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  8. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  9. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  10. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  16. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. Don't do anything ________________.
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. rash — a series
  3. march — music
  4. row — to paddle
  5. foot — a measure
  6. squash — the sport
  7. board — a flat piece
  8. rash — on the skin
  9. foot — the bottom
  10. foot — part of the body
  11. court — of law
  12. hand — in cards
  13. row — a line
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. board — a committee
  16. board — to get on
  17. march — the month
  18. squash — to crush
  19. march — the month
  20. rash — hasty
  21. court — for sport
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. court — of a king
  24. squash — the vegetable

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