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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: land · swing · ruler · race · mate · chest · rule · pit

  1. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  9. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  10. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  11. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  12. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  16. David sat on the ________________.
  17. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  21. Have you found your soul ________________?
  22. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  23. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  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. pit — a hole
  3. race — a contest
  4. ruler — for measuring
  5. race — humankind
  6. rule — a law
  7. race — the arms race
  8. swing — in golf
  9. mate — a friend
  10. swing — music
  11. ruler — a monarch
  12. rule — to rule out
  13. chest — of your body
  14. land — to come down
  15. pit — a fruit stone
  16. swing — to play on
  17. ruler — for measuring
  18. chest — of your body
  19. chest — a box
  20. rule — government
  21. mate — a partner
  22. mate — to breed
  23. pit — in a race
  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