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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. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  3. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  4. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  5. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. My father caught me by the ________________.
  11. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  12. That was ________________ to happen.
  13. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  14. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  18. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  19. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  20. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  24. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. ruler — a monarch
  3. racket — a loud noise
  4. bound — obliged
  5. rule — a law
  6. court — for sport
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. court — of a king
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. rule — government
  12. bound — certain
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. rule — to rule out
  15. row — a line
  16. row — to paddle
  17. arm — a part of something
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. bound — tied together
  21. mine — for digging
  22. court — of law
  23. ruler — for measuring
  24. ruler — for measuring

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