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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: last · race · cabinet · court · rest · pass · hand · field

  1. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  2. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  16. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. What do you think of the new ________________?
  24. You can't go backstage without a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. rest — a break
  3. field — farmland
  4. pass — to succeed
  5. field — for sport
  6. pass — to spend time
  7. last — final
  8. hand — in cards
  9. cabinet — a cupboard
  10. race — humankind
  11. court — of law
  12. last — to go on
  13. race — the arms race
  14. court — for sport
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. rest — what's left
  17. race — a contest
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. field — a subject
  20. hand — help
  21. last — finally
  22. court — of a king
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. pass — a permit

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