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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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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: cold · patient · pound · land · deal · clip · court · ruler

  1. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  2. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  3. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  6. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  17. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  20. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  24. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.

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

Answer key

  1. ruler — for measuring
  2. patient — calm and waiting
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. clip — to cut
  5. pound — a weight
  6. pound — to hit hard
  7. court — of law
  8. cold — an illness
  9. court — for sport
  10. ruler — for measuring
  11. clip — for paper
  12. clip — a video
  13. land — to come down
  14. cold — not warm
  15. court — of a king
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. deal — to handle
  18. land — ground
  19. pound — for dogs
  20. deal — an agreement
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. land — a country
  23. ruler — a monarch
  24. deal — a big deal

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