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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 120 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: spring · rush · rule · court · arm · mark · march · ground

  1. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  2. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  3. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  4. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. My father caught me by the ________________.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  17. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  18. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. There's no middle ________________.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. That must've been a ________________.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — a law
  2. rush — hurry
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. rule — to rule out
  5. court — of law
  6. ground — crushed
  7. rush — to hurry
  8. ground — the earth
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. court — for sport
  11. mark — a trace
  12. spring — of water
  13. spring — a coil
  14. rule — government
  15. march — the month
  16. mark — a grade
  17. arm — a part of something
  18. mark — to pay attention
  19. march — music
  20. court — of a king
  21. ground — a position
  22. march — the month
  23. rush — a thrill
  24. spring — the season

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