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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: kid · ruler · staff · stock · bound · season · court · mark

  1. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  6. Did you ________________ the meat?
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  11. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  12. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  13. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  16. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. That was ________________ to happen.
  19. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  20. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  21. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  22. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — to pay attention
  2. mark — a grade
  3. kid — to tease
  4. kid — child
  5. ruler — a monarch
  6. season — to add flavour
  7. court — of a king
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. staff — employees
  11. bound — obliged
  12. bound — tied together
  13. stock — goods
  14. court — for sport
  15. staff — employees
  16. ruler — for measuring
  17. stock — shares
  18. bound — certain
  19. season — in sport
  20. season — of the year
  21. staff — a stick
  22. mark — a trace
  23. court — of law
  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