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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: rule · ruler · tear · ground · march · rock · race · land

  1. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  5. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  23. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. race — a contest
  3. march — the month
  4. rock — to move gently
  5. rock — a stone
  6. race — humankind
  7. rule — to rule out
  8. tear — from crying
  9. race — the arms race
  10. rock — music
  11. land — to come down
  12. ground — crushed
  13. rule — a law
  14. march — the month
  15. ground — a position
  16. tear — from crying
  17. ruler — for measuring
  18. tear — to rip
  19. ruler — a monarch
  20. march — music
  21. ground — the earth
  22. rule — government
  23. ruler — for measuring
  24. land — a country

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