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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: last · sharp · press · court · club · rush · hand · trunk

  1. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  5. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. Did you ________________ the button?
  11. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  12. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  17. It's one o'clock ________________.
  18. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  19. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  22. That must've been a ________________.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. hand — in cards
  3. last — final
  4. rush — to hurry
  5. club — for golf
  6. sharp — clever
  7. trunk — of a car
  8. last — finally
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. press — to push
  11. press — newspapers
  12. club — a group
  13. court — of a king
  14. last — to go on
  15. court — of law
  16. press — a publisher
  17. sharp — exactly
  18. trunk — of an elephant
  19. trunk — of a tree
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. club — for dancing
  22. rush — a thrill
  23. court — for sport
  24. hand — help

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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