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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 · race · nail · fork · rule · object

  1. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  6. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  10. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. The ________________ went through the wall.
  13. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  14. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  17. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  18. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — government
  2. court — for sport
  3. rule — to rule out
  4. court — of law
  5. fork — in a road
  6. fork — a garden tool
  7. court — of a king
  8. race — a contest
  9. object — to protest
  10. rule — a law
  11. race — the arms race
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. object — an aim
  14. object — a thing
  15. race — humankind
  16. nail — on a finger
  17. fork — to eat with
  18. nail — for a hammer

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