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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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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: kick · march · deal · court · squash · rule · mark · wound

  1. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  9. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  10. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  11. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  19. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  22. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  23. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  24. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — government
  2. court — for sport
  3. rule — to rule out
  4. squash — to crush
  5. court — of a king
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. march — the month
  8. mark — to pay attention
  9. deal — a big deal
  10. mark — a grade
  11. deal — to handle
  12. march — music
  13. march — the month
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. mark — a trace
  16. wound — an injury
  17. wound — an injury
  18. squash — the sport
  19. deal — an agreement
  20. court — of law
  21. rule — a law
  22. kick — a thrill
  23. kick — with a leg
  24. kick — in football

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