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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 116 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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Word bank
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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: tear · rule · mug · file · court · leaves · land · kid

  1. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  4. Where did you ________________ them?
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  10. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  11. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  12. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. The ________________ change colour in autumn.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. court — for sport
  3. rule — a law
  4. mug — to rob
  5. court — of a king
  6. leaves — lets stay
  7. land — a country
  8. land — ground
  9. leaves — to go away
  10. mug — a face
  11. rule — to rule out
  12. mug — a cup
  13. tear — from crying
  14. court — of law
  15. kid — child
  16. file — a tool
  17. kid — to tease
  18. tear — from crying
  19. rule — government
  20. file — a document
  21. file — a line of people
  22. land — to come down
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. leaves — of a tree

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