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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: court · rush · fall · rash · fan · cue · ball · net

  1. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  2. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  5. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  6. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. The King held a masked ________________.
  13. Don't do anything ________________.
  14. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. That must've been a ________________.
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  20. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  21. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  22. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  23. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  24. I'll take my ________________ from you.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. rush — hurry
  3. net — after costs
  4. fan — to cool the air
  5. rash — on the skin
  6. cue — for pool
  7. fall — the season
  8. ball — a great time
  9. court — for sport
  10. net — in sport
  11. net — for catching
  12. ball — a dance
  13. rash — hasty
  14. ball — a round shape
  15. court — of law
  16. rush — a thrill
  17. rash — a series
  18. court — of a king
  19. fall — to drop
  20. fall — to drop
  21. rush — to hurry
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. cue — a signal
  24. cue — a hint

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