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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: hand · tube · rash · court · mine · board · sharp · rest

  1. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. I'll be taking the ________________.
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  7. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  8. Don't do anything ________________.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  11. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  12. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. It's one o'clock ________________.
  15. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  16. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  17. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  22. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  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 — of law
  2. rest — what's left
  3. hand — in cards
  4. tube — the underground
  5. rash — a series
  6. rash — on the skin
  7. board — a flat piece
  8. rash — hasty
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. board — a committee
  11. board — to get on
  12. rest — a break
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. sharp — exactly
  15. sharp — clever
  16. sharp — with an edge
  17. tube — in a tire
  18. mine — for digging
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. hand — help
  21. rest — what's left
  22. tube — a container
  23. court — for sport
  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