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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 116 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: hand · nail · land · rest · bass · race · rule · rock

  1. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  2. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  3. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  4. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  11. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  14. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  15. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  16. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  19. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  20. The ________________ went through the wall.
  21. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  22. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the instrument
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. rule — government
  4. rock — to move gently
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. race — humankind
  7. land — ground
  8. land — to come down
  9. hand — in cards
  10. rest — a break
  11. rock — a stone
  12. land — a country
  13. rock — music
  14. bass — low music
  15. nail — on a finger
  16. bass — the fish
  17. race — a contest
  18. rest — what's left
  19. race — the arms race
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. rest — what's left
  22. rule — a law
  23. hand — help
  24. rule — to rule out

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