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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: row · chair · court · hand · tube · rule · cabinet · date

  1. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  10. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  11. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  15. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. Have you settled on a ________________?
  18. What do you think of the new ________________?
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  24. I'll be taking the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — a law
  2. court — of law
  3. hand — in cards
  4. date — the fruit
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. cabinet — a cupboard
  8. court — for sport
  9. rule — to rule out
  10. tube — a container
  11. rule — government
  12. hand — help
  13. chair — a leader
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. court — of a king
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. row — a line
  20. tube — in a tire
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. row — to paddle
  23. chair — to sit on
  24. tube — the underground

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