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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: ground · bat · last · suit · kid · nail · rush · court

  1. That must've been a ________________.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  5. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  6. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  7. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. When will it ________________ you to start?
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. The ________________ went through the wall.
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — a thrill
  2. ground — crushed
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. rush — to hurry
  5. suit — in cards
  6. nail — on a finger
  7. suit — clothes
  8. kid — child
  9. suit — to fit
  10. ground — a position
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. last — finally
  13. last — final
  14. court — of law
  15. rush — hurry
  16. last — to go on
  17. kid — to tease
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. ground — the earth
  21. bat — the animal
  22. court — of a king
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. court — for 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