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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: bore · court · last · rule · bowl · pop · kid · staff

  1. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. We're almost out of ________________.
  5. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  8. You don't need to ________________ round.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  11. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  14. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  15. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  18. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  21. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  22. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — gave birth
  2. last — final
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. pop — soda
  5. bowl — a football final
  6. kid — to tease
  7. bowl — a dish
  8. pop — to visit
  9. last — finally
  10. staff — a stick
  11. bore — to drill
  12. kid — child
  13. rule — to rule out
  14. bowl — to roll
  15. pop — music
  16. last — to go on
  17. rule — a law
  18. staff — employees
  19. court — of a king
  20. rule — government
  21. bore — to tire
  22. staff — employees
  23. court — for sport
  24. court — of law

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