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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 120 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: chest · ruler · court · rest · stick · spring

  1. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  7. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  8. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  14. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  15. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. ruler — for measuring
  3. spring — the season
  4. chest — of your body
  5. court — of a king
  6. rest — what's left
  7. ruler — a monarch
  8. stick — to attach or keep to
  9. chest — of your body
  10. spring — a coil
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. court — for sport
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. rest — what's left
  15. ruler — for measuring
  16. spring — of water
  17. rest — a break
  18. chest — a box

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