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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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Word bank
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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: saw · ruler · land · race · rule · bass · spring · fork

  1. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  2. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  3. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  4. She's very handy with a ________________.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  10. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  11. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. He works in a ________________ mill.
  14. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  19. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  20. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  21. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  22. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — government
  2. fork — a garden tool
  3. ruler — for measuring
  4. saw — the tool
  5. land — to come down
  6. race — a contest
  7. saw — past of 'see'
  8. spring — the season
  9. ruler — for measuring
  10. rule — a law
  11. bass — the fish
  12. race — the arms race
  13. saw — the tool
  14. bass — low music
  15. land — ground
  16. bass — the instrument
  17. spring — of water
  18. fork — in a road
  19. fork — to eat with
  20. ruler — a monarch
  21. race — humankind
  22. rule — to rule out
  23. spring — a coil
  24. land — a country

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