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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: game · court · mate · hide · rush · saw · fall · row

  1. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  3. He works in a ________________ mill.
  4. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  7. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  10. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  14. She's very handy with a ________________.
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  22. That must've been a ________________.
  23. Have you found your soul ________________?
  24. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. rush — hurry
  3. saw — the tool
  4. mate — to breed
  5. row — a line
  6. row — to paddle
  7. rush — to hurry
  8. court — of a king
  9. mate — a friend
  10. hide — animal skin
  11. game — wild animals
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. fall — to drop
  14. saw — the tool
  15. fall — to drop
  16. court — for sport
  17. saw — past of 'see'
  18. game — a match
  19. fall — the season
  20. court — of law
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. rush — a thrill
  23. mate — a partner
  24. hide — to keep secret

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