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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: court · ball · suit · fork · pit · rush · wind · kick

  1. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  3. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  4. The King held a masked ________________.
  5. That must've been a ________________.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  8. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  9. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. When will it ________________ you to start?
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  19. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  20. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  21. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  22. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  23. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  24. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. rush — to hurry
  3. kick — in football
  4. ball — a dance
  5. rush — a thrill
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. pit — a hole
  8. pit — in a race
  9. pit — a fruit stone
  10. wind — moving air
  11. ball — a round shape
  12. wind — moving air
  13. suit — to fit
  14. court — for sport
  15. court — of a king
  16. suit — clothes
  17. court — of law
  18. kick — a thrill
  19. kick — with a leg
  20. fork — a garden tool
  21. fork — to eat with
  22. fork — in a road
  23. ball — a great time
  24. suit — in cards

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