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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: rest · rush · bore · race · last · mate · court · board

  1. That must've been a ________________.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. Have you found your soul ________________?
  4. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  10. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  11. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  12. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  13. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  14. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  15. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  23. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  24. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — a thrill
  2. court — of law
  3. mate — a partner
  4. board — a committee
  5. last — finally
  6. race — humankind
  7. mate — a friend
  8. race — the arms race
  9. bore — to tire
  10. bore — to drill
  11. rush — hurry
  12. bore — gave birth
  13. rush — to hurry
  14. board — a flat piece
  15. mate — to breed
  16. race — a contest
  17. last — final
  18. last — to go on
  19. court — of a king
  20. board — to get on
  21. court — for sport
  22. rest — what's left
  23. rest — a break
  24. rest — what's left

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