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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: rest · court · wind · leaves · pound · snap · cue · deal

  1. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  3. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  12. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  13. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  16. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  17. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  18. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  19. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  22. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  23. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  24. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. leaves — to go away
  3. pound — a weight
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. cue — a hint
  6. court — of a king
  7. deal — to handle
  8. wind — moving air
  9. cue — a signal
  10. court — of law
  11. snap — to click
  12. deal — a big deal
  13. rest — what's left
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. rest — a break
  16. leaves — lets stay
  17. deal — an agreement
  18. cue — for pool
  19. pound — to hit hard
  20. wind — moving air
  21. leaves — of a tree
  22. snap — to speak sharply
  23. rest — what's left
  24. pound — for dogs

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