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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: leaves · court · cold · kid · press · rest · mate · rush

  1. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  5. That must've been a ________________.
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  11. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  12. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  13. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  14. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  20. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  21. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  22. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. Did you ________________ the button?

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

Answer key

  1. rest — a break
  2. kid — child
  3. court — of a king
  4. leaves — of a tree
  5. rush — a thrill
  6. mate — a partner
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. cold — an illness
  9. court — for sport
  10. rush — hurry
  11. mate — to breed
  12. rush — to hurry
  13. leaves — lets stay
  14. press — newspapers
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. mate — a friend
  17. court — of law
  18. kid — to tease
  19. press — a publisher
  20. rest — what's left
  21. rest — what's left
  22. leaves — to go away
  23. cold — not warm
  24. press — to push

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