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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 120 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: game · ball · staff · bowl · hand · court · wound · rest

  1. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  4. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  10. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  13. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  14. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. The King held a masked ________________.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  22. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. wound — an injury
  3. rest — a break
  4. staff — a stick
  5. court — for sport
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. wound — an injury
  8. court — of law
  9. bowl — a football final
  10. bowl — a dish
  11. court — of a king
  12. ball — a great time
  13. staff — employees
  14. ball — a round shape
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. ball — a dance
  17. hand — in cards
  18. game — wild animals
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. hand — help
  21. bowl — to roll
  22. rest — what's left
  23. game — a match
  24. rest — what's left

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