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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: rush · wound · tube · court · scale · leaves · nail · hand

  1. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  8. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  12. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  17. That must've been a ________________.
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. I'll be taking the ________________.
  22. The ________________ went through the wall.
  23. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  24. The ________________ change colour in autumn.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. scale — for weighing
  3. wound — an injury
  4. rush — to hurry
  5. court — for sport
  6. hand — help
  7. leaves — to go away
  8. rush — hurry
  9. court — of a king
  10. hand — in cards
  11. nail — on a finger
  12. tube — a container
  13. wound — an injury
  14. tube — in a tire
  15. scale — in music
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. rush — a thrill
  18. scale — size or range
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. tube — the underground
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. leaves — lets stay
  24. leaves — of a tree

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