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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: rule · court · calf · prune · kid · hide · game · bank

  1. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  4. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  5. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  6. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  10. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  17. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  21. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  22. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — government
  2. kid — to tease
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. calf — of the leg
  5. rule — a law
  6. bank — for money
  7. court — of a king
  8. court — for sport
  9. hide — animal skin
  10. rule — to rule out
  11. game — wild animals
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. court — of law
  16. bank — for money
  17. bank — of a river
  18. game — a match
  19. kid — child
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. prune — to trim
  22. prune — to trim
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. game — a kind of play

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