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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 120 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: court · wind · lie · deal · rule · rash · game · cell

  1. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  4. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  7. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  8. Don't do anything ________________.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  24. I seem to be developing a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lie — to recline
  2. court — of law
  3. rule — government
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. wind — moving air
  6. rule — a law
  7. rule — to rule out
  8. rash — hasty
  9. cell — in biology
  10. wind — moving air
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. court — for sport
  13. rash — a series
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. cell — a phone
  17. deal — an agreement
  18. game — a match
  19. court — of a king
  20. deal — a big deal
  21. game — wild animals
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. deal — to handle
  24. rash — on the skin

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