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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: rule · current · land · court · ground · file · spell · scale

  1. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  9. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  21. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. rule — government
  3. spell — magic
  4. ground — crushed
  5. court — of a king
  6. ground — the earth
  7. land — a country
  8. scale — in music
  9. rule — a law
  10. file — a document
  11. spell — letters
  12. current — of water
  13. file — a line of people
  14. court — for sport
  15. land — to come down
  16. ground — a position
  17. current — electric
  18. spell — a short time
  19. land — ground
  20. rule — to rule out
  21. current — happening now
  22. file — a tool
  23. scale — for weighing
  24. scale — size or range

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