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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 · saw · roll · net · cabinet · fall · rock · deal

  1. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  3. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  4. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  5. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  6. He works in a ________________ mill.
  7. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  8. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  9. We're on a ________________ here.
  10. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  11. She's very handy with a ________________.
  12. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  13. What do you think of the new ________________?
  14. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  18. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  19. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  23. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. fall — the season
  3. roll — a cake
  4. rock — to move gently
  5. saw — past of 'see'
  6. saw — the tool
  7. fall — to drop
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. roll — on a roll
  10. rock — music
  11. saw — the tool
  12. deal — an agreement
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. roll — a list
  15. court — of a king
  16. court — of law
  17. deal — to handle
  18. rock — a stone
  19. deal — a big deal
  20. net — in sport
  21. net — after costs
  22. cabinet — a cupboard
  23. fall — to drop
  24. net — for catching

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