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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: court · ruler · lash · sharp · cabinet · march · field · leaves

  1. What do you think of the new ________________?
  2. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  3. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  13. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  14. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  15. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  16. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  17. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. It's one o'clock ________________.
  20. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  21. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. The train ________________ at six o'clock.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. ruler — a monarch
  3. lash — a whip stroke
  4. court — of a king
  5. field — a subject
  6. leaves — lets stay
  7. court — of law
  8. field — for sport
  9. field — farmland
  10. cabinet — a cupboard
  11. march — the month
  12. lash — to lash out
  13. ruler — for measuring
  14. sharp — clever
  15. lash — an eyelash
  16. sharp — with an edge
  17. ruler — for measuring
  18. court — for sport
  19. sharp — exactly
  20. leaves — of a tree
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. march — the month
  23. march — music
  24. leaves — to go away

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