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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: court · hand · lash · racket · file · board · cap · pop

  1. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  10. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  13. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  17. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  18. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  19. We're almost out of ________________.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  22. You don't need to ________________ round.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. The polar ice ________________ is melting.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a committee
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. board — to get on
  4. file — a tool
  5. lash — a whip stroke
  6. court — of a king
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. hand — in cards
  9. lash — to lash out
  10. cap — a hat
  11. court — for sport
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. pop — music
  14. court — of law
  15. file — a document
  16. board — a flat piece
  17. lash — an eyelash
  18. racket — a loud noise
  19. pop — soda
  20. hand — help
  21. cap — a lid
  22. pop — to visit
  23. file — a line of people
  24. cap — of ice

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