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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 · jam · deal · trunk · content · land · ruler · kick

  1. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  2. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  4. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  9. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  10. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  16. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  21. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  22. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  23. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. trunk — of a car
  3. jam — to spread on bread
  4. deal — a big deal
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. ruler — for measuring
  7. content — the amount
  8. kick — in football
  9. trunk — of a tree
  10. ruler — a monarch
  11. content — happy
  12. land — to come down
  13. deal — to handle
  14. land — ground
  15. deal — an agreement
  16. kick — a thrill
  17. court — of law
  18. trunk — of an elephant
  19. court — of a king
  20. jam — in traffic
  21. ruler — for measuring
  22. kick — with a leg
  23. jam — a tight spot
  24. court — for sport

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