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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: plane · board · rule · race · wound · court · last · net

  1. The ________________ took off on time.
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  4. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  7. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. plane — an aircraft
  2. wound — an injury
  3. plane — a tool
  4. rule — a law
  5. last — final
  6. board — to get on
  7. rule — to rule out
  8. court — for sport
  9. net — in sport
  10. board — a committee
  11. last — finally
  12. rule — government
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. board — a flat piece
  15. court — of a king
  16. plane — in geometry
  17. court — of law
  18. net — for catching
  19. race — a contest
  20. net — after costs
  21. wound — an injury
  22. last — to go on
  23. race — humankind
  24. race — the arms race

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