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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: season · content · rest · court · fall · hand · fan · pass

  1. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  2. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  3. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. Did you ________________ the meat?
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  12. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  16. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  19. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  20. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  21. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  24. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.

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. pass — a permit
  4. hand — help
  5. season — to add flavour
  6. hand — in cards
  7. court — of a king
  8. fan — to cool the air
  9. court — for sport
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. fall — the season
  12. rest — what's left
  13. court — of law
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. season — of the year
  16. pass — to succeed
  17. content — happy
  18. fall — to drop
  19. fall — to drop
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. season — in sport
  22. content — the amount
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. pass — to spend time

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