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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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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 · ruler · present · fall · file · band · tear · ground

  1. There's no middle ________________.
  2. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  19. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  20. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  21. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. tear — to rip
  3. ruler — a monarch
  4. band — a music group
  5. ground — the earth
  6. court — of a king
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. ruler — for measuring
  9. file — a tool
  10. fall — the season
  11. tear — from crying
  12. present — there
  13. file — a line of people
  14. file — a document
  15. band — a ring
  16. fall — to drop
  17. fall — to drop
  18. present — a gift
  19. ground — crushed
  20. ruler — for measuring
  21. present — the time now
  22. court — for sport
  23. tear — from crying
  24. court — of law

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