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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 ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  3. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  4. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  5. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  6. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  7. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. rule — a law
  3. ruler — for measuring
  4. ruler — a monarch
  5. rule — government
  6. scale — size or range
  7. ruler — for measuring
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. wound — an injury
  13. game — wild animals
  14. rule — to rule out
  15. hand — in cards
  16. game — a match
  17. drill — the tool
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. wound — an injury
  20. bat — the animal
  21. hand — help
  22. drill — a practice
  23. drill — army training
  24. scale — in music

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