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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: kid · chair · file · ruler · game · deal

  1. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  5. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  9. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. ruler — a monarch
  2. game — wild animals
  3. chair — to sit on
  4. ruler — for measuring
  5. deal — a big deal
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. kid — to tease
  8. deal — to handle
  9. deal — an agreement
  10. file — a tool
  11. ruler — for measuring
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. kid — child
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. chair — a leader
  16. game — a match
  17. file — a line of people
  18. file — a document

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