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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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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 · rule · last · bound · spell · arm · ground · race

  1. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  10. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  14. That was ________________ to happen.
  15. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  16. My father caught me by the ________________.
  17. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  20. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. ground — crushed
  3. spell — magic
  4. last — final
  5. last — to go on
  6. bound — obliged
  7. last — finally
  8. spell — letters
  9. bound — tied together
  10. rule — a law
  11. race — humankind
  12. ground — the earth
  13. rule — government
  14. bound — certain
  15. bowl — a football final
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. arm — a part of something
  18. ground — a position
  19. rule — to rule out
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. spell — a short time
  22. bowl — to roll
  23. race — the arms race
  24. bowl — a dish

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