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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  3. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  4. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. Where did you ________________ them?
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  12. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. ruler — a monarch
  3. mug — a cup
  4. ruler — for measuring
  5. land — to come down
  6. land — a country
  7. cell — in biology
  8. mug — to rob
  9. court — for sport
  10. band — a music group
  11. ruler — for measuring
  12. mug — a face
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. land — ground
  15. court — of a king
  16. band — a ring
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. cell — a phone

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