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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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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: game · stand · bark · ruler · mine · court · wound · pop

  1. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. I can't ________________ this cold.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. We're almost out of ________________.
  7. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  8. You don't need to ________________ round.
  9. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  21. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — past of 'wind'
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. stand — to bear
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. wound — an injury
  6. pop — soda
  7. ruler — a monarch
  8. pop — to visit
  9. stand — for spectators
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. court — of a king
  12. wound — an injury
  13. bark — to shout
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. game — wild animals
  17. court — for sport
  18. ruler — for measuring
  19. court — of law
  20. stand — on your feet
  21. pop — music
  22. mine — for digging
  23. game — a match
  24. ruler — for measuring

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