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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: bowl · race · sharp · court · club · mate · last · rule

  1. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  2. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. Have you found your soul ________________?
  6. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  10. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  13. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  14. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. This knife is not ________________ enough.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — government
  2. sharp — clever
  3. rule — a law
  4. court — of a king
  5. mate — a partner
  6. bowl — a football final
  7. race — a contest
  8. last — to go on
  9. club — for golf
  10. bowl — to roll
  11. race — humankind
  12. club — for dancing
  13. club — a group
  14. rule — to rule out
  15. last — final
  16. court — for sport
  17. mate — a friend
  18. court — of law
  19. mate — to breed
  20. race — the arms race
  21. bowl — a dish
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. last — finally
  24. sharp — with an edge

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