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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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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: hand · bore · march · bowl · sharp · kid · court · rule

  1. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  2. It's one o'clock ________________.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  13. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — with an edge
  2. sharp — exactly
  3. hand — in cards
  4. court — of law
  5. rule — government
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. rule — to rule out
  8. kid — child
  9. court — for sport
  10. hand — help
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. rule — a law
  13. bore — to tire
  14. march — the month
  15. bowl — a football final
  16. march — music
  17. bowl — a dish
  18. march — the month
  19. bore — gave birth
  20. court — of a king
  21. bowl — to roll
  22. sharp — clever
  23. bore — to drill
  24. kid — to tease

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