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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: saw · bound · court · chest · cold · racket · mouse · rush

  1. She's very handy with a ________________.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  5. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  9. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. That must've been a ________________.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  17. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  18. That was ________________ to happen.
  19. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  20. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. He works in a ________________ mill.
  23. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  24. You shouldn't ________________ things.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. cold — not warm
  3. chest — of your body
  4. saw — past of 'see'
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. cold — an illness
  8. bound — tied together
  9. mouse — for a computer
  10. chest — of your body
  11. mouse — the animal
  12. court — of a king
  13. rush — a thrill
  14. chest — a box
  15. court — for sport
  16. bound — obliged
  17. rush — hurry
  18. bound — certain
  19. racket — a loud noise
  20. mouse — the animal
  21. court — of law
  22. saw — the tool
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. rush — to hurry

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