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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: ruler · cold · cell · suit · court · march

  1. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  2. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  3. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  4. When will it ________________ you to start?
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. ruler — for measuring
  2. suit — in cards
  3. ruler — a monarch
  4. suit — to fit
  5. court — for sport
  6. cell — a phone
  7. march — music
  8. cell — in biology
  9. ruler — for measuring
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. march — the month
  12. court — of a king
  13. cold — an illness
  14. march — the month
  15. suit — clothes
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. cold — not warm
  18. court — of law

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