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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 116 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 people resisted their cruel ________________.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. She's very handy with a ________________.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  6. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  13. He works in a ________________ mill.
  14. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  15. He is an ace ________________.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ruler — a monarch
  2. march — the month
  3. saw — the tool
  4. court — for sport
  5. saw — past of 'see'
  6. club — a group
  7. content — the amount
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. ruler — for measuring
  13. saw — the tool
  14. ruler — for measuring
  15. pitcher — in baseball
  16. march — the month
  17. march — music
  18. court — of a king
  19. court — of law
  20. club — for dancing
  21. content — happy
  22. club — for golf
  23. hand — help
  24. hand — in cards

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