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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: hand · rush · ruler · court · net · rash · bulb · fall

  1. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  3. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  4. The light ________________ burned out.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. I've got to change the light ________________.
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  9. Don't do anything ________________.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  14. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. That must've been a ________________.
  17. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  23. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. rush — to hurry
  3. rash — on the skin
  4. bulb — for light
  5. hand — help
  6. bulb — for light
  7. net — for catching
  8. fall — to drop
  9. rash — hasty
  10. court — for sport
  11. bulb — of a plant
  12. net — in sport
  13. rush — hurry
  14. rash — a series
  15. fall — to drop
  16. rush — a thrill
  17. ruler — for measuring
  18. court — of law
  19. ruler — a monarch
  20. hand — in cards
  21. court — of a king
  22. ruler — for measuring
  23. fall — the season
  24. net — after costs

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