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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: land · ruler · arm · sharp · march · rule · ball · drill

  1. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  2. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  5. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. The King held a masked ________________.
  8. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  12. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  16. My father caught me by the ________________.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  22. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  23. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  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. rule — government
  2. ball — a round shape
  3. march — the month
  4. ruler — a monarch
  5. ball — a great time
  6. march — the month
  7. ball — a dance
  8. ruler — for measuring
  9. sharp — clever
  10. drill — a practice
  11. arm — a part of something
  12. rule — a law
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. march — music
  15. ruler — for measuring
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. land — ground
  18. drill — army training
  19. land — to come down
  20. land — a country
  21. drill — the tool
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. sharp — with an edge
  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