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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: chair · march · rule · land · racket · mine · race · temple

  1. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  19. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  20. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  21. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. When was this ________________ built?
  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. chair — to sit on
  2. rule — to rule out
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. rule — a law
  5. land — to come down
  6. racket — a loud noise
  7. race — humankind
  8. race — a contest
  9. temple — a place of worship
  10. mine — for digging
  11. rule — government
  12. march — music
  13. land — ground
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. march — the month
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. temple — side of the head
  18. race — the arms race
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. chair — a leader
  22. march — the month
  23. temple — a place of worship
  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