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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 116 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: hand · rule · tube · court · lash · bat · firm · fall

  1. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  12. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  13. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  14. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  15. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  16. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  17. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  18. I'll be taking the ________________.
  19. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  23. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  24. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. court — for sport
  4. hand — in cards
  5. firm — a company
  6. hand — help
  7. fall — the season
  8. court — of a king
  9. lash — to lash out
  10. court — of law
  11. rule — to rule out
  12. tube — a container
  13. fall — to drop
  14. rule — government
  15. rule — a law
  16. firm — decided
  17. fall — to drop
  18. tube — the underground
  19. firm — steady
  20. bat — the animal
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. lash — an eyelash
  23. lash — a whip stroke
  24. tube — in a tire

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