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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: rule · arm · mark · last · land · wound · net · jam

  1. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. My father caught me by the ________________.
  7. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  20. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  23. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  24. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. arm — a part of something
  3. land — to come down
  4. mark — a trace
  5. land — a country
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. rule — government
  8. wound — an injury
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. net — after costs
  11. land — ground
  12. mark — a grade
  13. last — to go on
  14. net — in sport
  15. jam — to spread on bread
  16. wound — an injury
  17. net — for catching
  18. last — final
  19. rule — a law
  20. jam — a tight spot
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. rule — to rule out
  23. jam — in traffic
  24. mark — to pay attention

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