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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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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: cold · leaves · court · hand · coach · staff · pass · rule

  1. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  7. Have you met the new head ________________?
  8. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  9. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  10. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  11. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  12. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  13. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  21. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. The old man leaned on his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — to rule out
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. cold — an illness
  4. staff — employees
  5. court — for sport
  6. rule — government
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. rule — a law
  9. staff — employees
  10. coach — pulled by horses
  11. pass — to spend time
  12. pass — to succeed
  13. pass — a permit
  14. cold — not warm
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. hand — help
  17. leaves — to go away
  18. court — of law
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. leaves — lets stay
  21. leaves — of a tree
  22. court — of a king
  23. hand — in cards
  24. staff — a stick

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