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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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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: hide · wave · net · court · cabinet · rush · game · chest

  1. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  3. What do you think of the new ________________?
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  8. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. That must've been a ________________.
  11. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  12. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  16. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  19. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. wave — with your hand
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. net — in sport
  5. game — wild animals
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. court — for sport
  10. rush — a thrill
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. wave — of the sea
  13. chest — a box
  14. court — of a king
  15. rush — to hurry
  16. rush — hurry
  17. chest — of your body
  18. wave — a sudden rise
  19. hide — animal skin
  20. game — a match
  21. cabinet — a cupboard
  22. net — for catching
  23. net — after costs
  24. chest — of your body

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