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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: kid · land · nail · jam · rule · bear · leaves · court

  1. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  6. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  7. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  8. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  9. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  15. The ________________ went through the wall.
  16. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  19. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  20. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. land — to come down
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. rule — government
  6. jam — to spread on bread
  7. nail — on a finger
  8. rule — a law
  9. jam — a tight spot
  10. kid — child
  11. jam — in traffic
  12. court — of a king
  13. court — for sport
  14. leaves — lets stay
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. bear — the animal
  17. kid — to tease
  18. leaves — of a tree
  19. leaves — to go away
  20. bear — to put up with
  21. land — a country
  22. court — of law
  23. land — ground
  24. rule — to rule out

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