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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: court · firm · bat · land · perch · nail · rule · tear

  1. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  2. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  3. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  16. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  17. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  23. The ________________ went through the wall.
  24. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. perch — the fish
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. tear — from crying
  5. rule — government
  6. court — of law
  7. tear — to rip
  8. court — of a king
  9. land — a country
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. firm — decided
  12. bat — the animal
  13. firm — a company
  14. land — to come down
  15. nail — on a finger
  16. firm — steady
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. land — ground
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. court — for sport
  21. tear — from crying
  22. rule — to rule out
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. rule — a 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