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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 116 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: court · game · fork · rash · stem · bound · ball · hand

  1. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  3. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. The King held a masked ________________.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  14. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  15. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  16. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  17. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  18. That was ________________ to happen.
  19. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  20. Don't do anything ________________.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. hand — in cards
  2. fork — to eat with
  3. stem — a stem cell
  4. stem — to come from
  5. ball — a round shape
  6. court — for sport
  7. ball — a dance
  8. game — wild animals
  9. bound — tied together
  10. court — of law
  11. court — of a king
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. fork — a garden tool
  14. bound — obliged
  15. rash — a series
  16. fork — in a road
  17. stem — of a plant
  18. bound — certain
  19. ball — a great time
  20. rash — hasty
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. game — a match
  23. rash — on the skin
  24. hand — help

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