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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 116 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 · kid · leaves · present · rush · pitcher · fork · net

  1. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  3. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  4. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  5. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  6. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  7. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  8. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  11. He is an ace ________________.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  14. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. That must've been a ________________.
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. rush — hurry
  3. rush — to hurry
  4. leaves — lets stay
  5. present — there
  6. leaves — to go away
  7. fork — a garden tool
  8. leaves — of a tree
  9. court — of law
  10. present — the time now
  11. pitcher — in baseball
  12. court — for sport
  13. present — a gift
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. net — after costs
  16. fork — in a road
  17. kid — child
  18. kid — to tease
  19. fork — to eat with
  20. court — of a king
  21. net — for catching
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. rush — a thrill
  24. net — in sport

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