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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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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: bore · kid · court · fall · game · mouse · file · ruler

  1. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  14. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  17. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  20. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  21. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  22. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  23. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ruler — a monarch
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. file — a line of people
  4. court — of law
  5. game — wild animals
  6. game — a match
  7. kid — to tease
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. bore — to drill
  10. file — a document
  11. bore — gave birth
  12. court — for sport
  13. fall — to drop
  14. mouse — for a computer
  15. court — of a king
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. bore — to tire
  18. kid — child
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. fall — the season
  21. ruler — for measuring
  22. ruler — for measuring
  23. fall — to drop
  24. file — a tool

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