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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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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: rule · chest · track · season · firm · file · court · rest

  1. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  8. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  11. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  15. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  16. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  17. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  20. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  21. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  22. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. court — for sport
  3. track — a song
  4. chest — of your body
  5. firm — steady
  6. file — a document
  7. season — of the year
  8. rest — what's left
  9. chest — of your body
  10. track — to keep track
  11. season — in sport
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. file — a line of people
  14. rest — what's left
  15. rule — to rule out
  16. rule — government
  17. rest — a break
  18. file — a tool
  19. firm — a company
  20. rule — a law
  21. track — a path
  22. firm — decided
  23. chest — a box
  24. court — of law

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