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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
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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: ground · march · file · capital · straw · court · last · rule

  1. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — a law
  2. last — to go on
  3. file — a document
  4. march — the month
  5. last — final
  6. ground — a position
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. file — a tool
  9. court — of law
  10. file — a line of people
  11. last — finally
  12. march — music
  13. rule — government
  14. capital — a city
  15. rule — to rule out
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. capital — money
  20. march — the month
  21. ground — crushed
  22. court — of a king
  23. court — for sport
  24. ground — the earth

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