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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: rush · ground · file · land · court · rest · cell · ball

  1. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. That must've been a ________________.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. The King held a masked ________________.
  12. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  23. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  24. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a great time
  2. rest — what's left
  3. ground — crushed
  4. cell — a phone
  5. rush — a thrill
  6. file — a line of people
  7. file — a tool
  8. rest — a break
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. ground — the earth
  11. ball — a dance
  12. rest — what's left
  13. file — a document
  14. court — for sport
  15. court — of law
  16. rush — hurry
  17. cell — in biology
  18. land — ground
  19. court — of a king
  20. land — to come down
  21. land — a country
  22. ball — a round shape
  23. rush — to hurry
  24. ground — a position

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