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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: ball · rush · last · squash · club · court · wind · net

  1. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  2. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  6. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  7. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. That must've been a ________________.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. The King held a masked ________________.
  14. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  18. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  19. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. ball — a round shape
  3. last — to go on
  4. last — finally
  5. club — a group
  6. squash — the sport
  7. squash — to crush
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. net — in sport
  10. court — of a king
  11. rush — a thrill
  12. wind — moving air
  13. ball — a dance
  14. rush — hurry
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. net — for catching
  17. club — for dancing
  18. ball — a great time
  19. net — after costs
  20. court — for sport
  21. last — final
  22. rush — to hurry
  23. wind — moving air
  24. court — of law

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