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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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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: cold · rule · saw · chest · rest · temple · court · rash

  1. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. She's very handy with a ________________.
  3. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  4. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  5. Don't do anything ________________.
  6. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  7. When was this ________________ built?
  8. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  17. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  21. He works in a ________________ mill.
  22. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. saw — the tool
  3. rule — to rule out
  4. saw — past of 'see'
  5. rash — hasty
  6. temple — side of the head
  7. temple — a place of worship
  8. rule — a law
  9. court — of law
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. rule — government
  12. court — for sport
  13. chest — a box
  14. rash — on the skin
  15. chest — of your body
  16. rest — what's left
  17. temple — a place of worship
  18. chest — of your body
  19. cold — an illness
  20. rest — a break
  21. saw — the tool
  22. rest — what's left
  23. rash — a series
  24. cold — not warm

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