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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: race · ball · rule · bank · cold · pit · rush · craft

  1. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  2. The King held a masked ________________.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. That must've been a ________________.
  7. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  8. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  9. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  10. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  11. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  14. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  17. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  19. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  20. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  23. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  24. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — government
  2. ball — a dance
  3. cold — not warm
  4. rule — a law
  5. race — a contest
  6. rush — a thrill
  7. rush — hurry
  8. pit — a fruit stone
  9. ball — a great time
  10. ball — a round shape
  11. craft — a handicraft
  12. race — the arms race
  13. craft — boats
  14. bank — of a river
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. bank — for money
  17. craft — a skill
  18. race — humankind
  19. rush — to hurry
  20. pit — a hole
  21. cold — an illness
  22. bank — for money
  23. rule — to rule out
  24. pit — in a race

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