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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 120 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: sharp · pound · ruler · file · court · temple · hand · deal

  1. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  3. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  4. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  10. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  11. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  12. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  15. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  16. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  17. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. When was this ________________ built?
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. It's one o'clock ________________.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. pound — for dogs
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. temple — side of the head
  5. sharp — clever
  6. court — of law
  7. court — for sport
  8. hand — in cards
  9. deal — a big deal
  10. pound — a weight
  11. pound — to hit hard
  12. ruler — for measuring
  13. court — of a king
  14. ruler — for measuring
  15. ruler — a monarch
  16. deal — an agreement
  17. deal — to handle
  18. file — a tool
  19. temple — a place of worship
  20. file — a document
  21. sharp — exactly
  22. file — a line of people
  23. sharp — with an edge
  24. hand — part of the body

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