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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
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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: court · wound · arm · stem · saw · rush · cabinet · fall

  1. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. She's very handy with a ________________.
  4. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  5. What do you think of the new ________________?
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. That must've been a ________________.
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  11. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  12. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  13. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. My father caught me by the ________________.
  16. He works in a ________________ mill.
  17. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  18. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  19. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  20. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  24. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. court — of law
  3. saw — the tool
  4. cabinet — a cupboard
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. court — for sport
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. rush — a thrill
  9. fall — to drop
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. saw — past of 'see'
  12. rush — to hurry
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. wound — an injury
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. saw — the tool
  17. stem — a stem cell
  18. stem — to come from
  19. arm — a part of something
  20. fall — the season
  21. wound — an injury
  22. court — of a king
  23. fall — to drop
  24. stem — of a plant

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