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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 120 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: kick · ruler · court · band · net · plane · race · march

  1. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  4. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  5. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  6. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. The ________________ took off on time.
  20. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. march — music
  3. plane — a tool
  4. plane — in geometry
  5. kick — in football
  6. kick — a thrill
  7. court — of law
  8. net — after costs
  9. kick — with a leg
  10. net — in sport
  11. net — for catching
  12. band — a music group
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. band — a ring
  15. ruler — a monarch
  16. court — of a king
  17. race — humankind
  18. march — the month
  19. plane — an aircraft
  20. ruler — for measuring
  21. march — the month
  22. race — a contest
  23. race — the arms race
  24. ruler — for measuring

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