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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  2. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  3. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  4. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  9. That must've been a ________________.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  12. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  13. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  14. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  15. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  16. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  17. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  18. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  19. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  20. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  21. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  22. This piece is in a major ________________.
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  24. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — to hurry
  2. mark — to pay attention
  3. drill — army training
  4. rule — to rule out
  5. hand — in cards
  6. key — the most important part
  7. hand — help
  8. rush — hurry
  9. rush — a thrill
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. key — for a lock
  12. trunk — of an elephant
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. rule — government
  15. mark — a trace
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. trunk — of a car
  18. drill — the tool
  19. trunk — of a tree
  20. mark — a grade
  21. rule — a law
  22. key — in music
  23. drill — a practice
  24. patient — calm and waiting

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