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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: sharp · court · shower · pound · kid · land · rule · scale

  1. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  2. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  3. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  6. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  20. It's one o'clock ________________.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — for weighing
  2. rule — to rule out
  3. pound — for dogs
  4. court — of law
  5. pound — a weight
  6. rule — government
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. kid — to tease
  9. court — for sport
  10. land — ground
  11. sharp — clever
  12. scale — in music
  13. scale — size or range
  14. shower — to wash
  15. rule — a law
  16. shower — rain
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. pound — to hit hard
  20. sharp — exactly
  21. kid — child
  22. court — of a king
  23. land — to come down
  24. land — a country

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