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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: rest · rule · mark · deal · kid · bass · fall · court

  1. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  3. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  6. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  7. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  8. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  9. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  10. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  11. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  12. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  19. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  20. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  21. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  22. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  23. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  24. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. rule — to rule out
  3. rest — a break
  4. court — of a king
  5. rest — what's left
  6. bass — the instrument
  7. fall — to drop
  8. fall — to drop
  9. bass — low music
  10. rule — a law
  11. deal — an agreement
  12. fall — the season
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. kid — to tease
  15. mark — to pay attention
  16. court — of law
  17. kid — child
  18. deal — to handle
  19. bass — the fish
  20. mark — a trace
  21. mark — a grade
  22. rule — government
  23. rest — what's left
  24. deal — a big deal

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