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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: fall · land · sharp · date · rock · court · rule · drill

  1. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  3. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. It's one o'clock ________________.
  6. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  19. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  20. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  21. Have you settled on a ________________?
  22. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  24. This knife is not ________________ enough.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. rule — a law
  3. rule — to rule out
  4. drill — army training
  5. sharp — exactly
  6. date — the fruit
  7. court — of a king
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. drill — the tool
  10. land — to come down
  11. fall — to drop
  12. fall — to drop
  13. rule — government
  14. court — for sport
  15. rock — to move gently
  16. court — of law
  17. land — a country
  18. rock — music
  19. sharp — clever
  20. fall — the season
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. rock — a stone
  23. drill — a practice
  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