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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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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: march · drill · racket · file · rest · bound · mine · rule

  1. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  7. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. That was ________________ to happen.
  14. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  15. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  16. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  17. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — government
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. rest — a break
  5. file — a tool
  6. bound — tied together
  7. drill — the tool
  8. march — the month
  9. march — music
  10. bound — obliged
  11. drill — army training
  12. march — the month
  13. bound — certain
  14. rest — what's left
  15. racket — a loud noise
  16. rule — a law
  17. rule — to rule out
  18. file — a document
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. drill — a practice
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. mine — for digging
  23. file — a line of people
  24. rest — what's left

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