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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: court · bore · scale · pop · rule · game · jam · trunk

  1. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  3. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  8. We're almost out of ________________.
  9. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  10. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  11. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. You don't need to ________________ round.
  17. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  19. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  20. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  21. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  22. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  23. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. trunk — of a tree
  3. bore — to tire
  4. court — of law
  5. scale — size or range
  6. game — a match
  7. jam — a tight spot
  8. pop — soda
  9. jam — to spread on bread
  10. rule — a law
  11. rule — to rule out
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. bore — to drill
  14. court — of a king
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. pop — to visit
  17. jam — in traffic
  18. scale — in music
  19. pop — music
  20. trunk — of an elephant
  21. rule — government
  22. trunk — of a car
  23. bore — gave birth
  24. game — wild animals

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