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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.

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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: fall · can · clip · court · bore · ruler · last · shower

  1. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  3. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  8. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  9. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  12. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  13. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. ruler — a monarch
  3. can — a tin
  4. shower — to wash
  5. ruler — for measuring
  6. last — finally
  7. ruler — for measuring
  8. bore — gave birth
  9. can — a tin
  10. fall — to drop
  11. bore — to drill
  12. can — to be able to
  13. bore — to tire
  14. clip — for paper
  15. fall — to drop
  16. shower — rain
  17. clip — a video
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. fall — the season
  20. last — to go on
  21. last — final
  22. clip — to cut
  23. court — of law
  24. court — for sport

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