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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: race · temple · court · fall · fan · scale · mark · rule

  1. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  3. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  4. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  5. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  6. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. When was this ________________ built?
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  12. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  19. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  20. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  21. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  22. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  24. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — to pay attention
  2. temple — side of the head
  3. fall — the season
  4. mark — a grade
  5. scale — in music
  6. rule — a law
  7. race — the arms race
  8. temple — a place of worship
  9. court — for sport
  10. court — of a king
  11. fan — to cool the air
  12. rule — government
  13. court — of law
  14. race — humankind
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. fall — to drop
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. scale — size or range
  19. fall — to drop
  20. temple — a place of worship
  21. rule — to rule out
  22. scale — for weighing
  23. race — a contest
  24. mark — a trace

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