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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: race · fall · march · court · rule · pit

  1. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  2. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  3. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  10. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  11. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  12. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a hole
  2. fall — the season
  3. rule — to rule out
  4. court — for sport
  5. race — a contest
  6. rule — a law
  7. march — the month
  8. court — of law
  9. fall — to drop
  10. pit — a fruit stone
  11. pit — in a race
  12. rule — government
  13. race — humankind
  14. march — music
  15. court — of a king
  16. fall — to drop
  17. race — the arms race
  18. march — the month

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