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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. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  5. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  8. That must've been a ________________.
  9. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  12. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  13. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  16. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  17. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  21. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — to hurry
  2. row — a line
  3. land — ground
  4. rush — hurry
  5. mark — to pay attention
  6. kid — to tease
  7. bear — the animal
  8. rush — a thrill
  9. rule — to rule out
  10. land — to come down
  11. mark — a grade
  12. kick — with a leg
  13. rule — a law
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. mark — a trace
  16. kick — a thrill
  17. bear — the animal
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. kid — child
  20. rule — government
  21. kick — in football
  22. row — to paddle
  23. bear — to put up with
  24. land — a country

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