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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: court · kid · ruler · straw · field · deal

  1. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  6. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  7. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ruler — a monarch
  2. court — of law
  3. kid — to tease
  4. field — for sport
  5. ruler — for measuring
  6. deal — an agreement
  7. deal — a big deal
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. court — for sport
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. court — of a king
  14. field — farmland
  15. deal — to handle
  16. field — a subject
  17. ruler — for measuring
  18. kid — child

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