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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: rush · net · hand · court · rule · lash · tube · content

  1. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  3. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. I'll be taking the ________________.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  11. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  12. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  13. That must've been a ________________.
  14. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  15. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  23. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  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. court — of a king
  2. rush — hurry
  3. lash — to lash out
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. lash — a whip stroke
  6. court — for sport
  7. net — for catching
  8. tube — the underground
  9. content — the amount
  10. rule — a law
  11. tube — in a tire
  12. rule — government
  13. rush — a thrill
  14. rush — to hurry
  15. lash — an eyelash
  16. court — of law
  17. net — after costs
  18. net — in sport
  19. hand — in cards
  20. rule — to rule out
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. content — happy
  23. tube — a container
  24. hand — help

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