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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. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  11. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  12. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  17. Don't do anything ________________.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  21. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. ruler — for measuring
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. ruler — a monarch
  5. mine — for digging
  6. ruler — for measuring
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. scale — for weighing
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. rash — a series
  11. scale — in music
  12. can — a tin
  13. court — for sport
  14. game — wild animals
  15. court — of law
  16. can — to be able to
  17. rash — hasty
  18. row — to paddle
  19. game — a match
  20. can — a tin
  21. scale — size or range
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. row — a line

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