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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: sharp · ground · foot · trunk · temple · mark · race · rule

  1. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  8. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  9. When was this ________________ built?
  10. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  11. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  12. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  15. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  16. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  19. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  20. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  21. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  24. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — to pay attention
  2. ground — a position
  3. rule — a law
  4. ground — the earth
  5. foot — a measure
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. trunk — of an elephant
  8. sharp — clever
  9. temple — a place of worship
  10. temple — a place of worship
  11. mark — a trace
  12. temple — side of the head
  13. race — the arms race
  14. mark — a grade
  15. rule — government
  16. foot — part of the body
  17. race — a contest
  18. foot — the bottom
  19. trunk — of a tree
  20. ground — crushed
  21. trunk — of a car
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. rule — to rule out
  24. race — humankind

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