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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: arm · race · land · rock · bound · court · ground · rule

  1. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  6. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  7. My father caught me by the ________________.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  15. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. That was ________________ to happen.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  23. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  24. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?

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

Answer key

  1. bound — tied together
  2. land — a country
  3. rule — government
  4. ground — a position
  5. rule — to rule out
  6. rule — a law
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. court — for sport
  9. race — humankind
  10. ground — the earth
  11. land — to come down
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. court — of law
  14. bound — obliged
  15. rock — to move gently
  16. land — ground
  17. bound — certain
  18. race — a contest
  19. ground — crushed
  20. race — the arms race
  21. court — of a king
  22. arm — a part of something
  23. rock — a stone
  24. rock — music

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