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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: shower · rule · march · jam · court · lash · ruler · cold

  1. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  4. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  5. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  8. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  14. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  24. Would you like some apricot ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. jam — in traffic
  2. shower — to wash
  3. lash — a whip stroke
  4. ruler — for measuring
  5. rule — to rule out
  6. court — of law
  7. lash — an eyelash
  8. rule — a law
  9. march — music
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. lash — to lash out
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. ruler — a monarch
  14. jam — a tight spot
  15. shower — rain
  16. court — for sport
  17. rule — government
  18. cold — an illness
  19. cold — not warm
  20. court — of a king
  21. march — the month
  22. march — the month
  23. ruler — for measuring
  24. jam — to spread on bread

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