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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: hand · ruler · fall · stem · deal · mine · bark · court

  1. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  2. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  14. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  22. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  23. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  24. The people resisted their cruel ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — an agreement
  2. deal — a big deal
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. deal — to handle
  5. court — for sport
  6. fall — the season
  7. court — of law
  8. bark — to shout
  9. stem — to come from
  10. mine — for digging
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. ruler — for measuring
  14. fall — to drop
  15. court — of a king
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. ruler — for measuring
  19. hand — in cards
  20. hand — help
  21. stem — of a plant
  22. stem — a stem cell
  23. fall — to drop
  24. ruler — a monarch

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