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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. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  18. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. ruler — for measuring
  2. court — for sport
  3. land — to come down
  4. land — a country
  5. pound — for dogs
  6. court — of law
  7. hand — in cards
  8. fall — to drop
  9. court — of a king
  10. ruler — a monarch
  11. tear — from crying
  12. fall — the season
  13. tear — from crying
  14. ruler — for measuring
  15. fall — to drop
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. pound — to hit hard
  18. pound — a weight
  19. land — ground
  20. tear — to rip
  21. hand — help
  22. net — for catching
  23. net — in sport
  24. net — after costs

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