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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: mine · chip · ruler · court · bound · row · game · pitcher

  1. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  8. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  14. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  15. That was ________________ to happen.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  24. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. mine — for digging
  3. row — a line
  4. game — wild animals
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. chip — to eat
  8. bound — tied together
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. ruler — for measuring
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. court — of law
  13. ruler — a monarch
  14. ruler — for measuring
  15. bound — certain
  16. row — to paddle
  17. game — a match
  18. chip — in a computer
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. bound — obliged
  21. court — for sport
  22. court — of a king
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. chip — for betting

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