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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. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  3. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  4. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  5. That must've been a ________________.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. It's one o'clock ________________.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  13. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  14. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  15. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  16. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  17. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  20. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  21. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  24. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. rush — to hurry
  3. pound — for dogs
  4. pound — a weight
  5. rush — a thrill
  6. kid — to tease
  7. sharp — exactly
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. hand — help
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. sharp — clever
  12. pound — to hit hard
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. rule — to rule out
  16. perch — the fish
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. hand — in cards
  19. rule — government
  20. rule — a law
  21. sharp — with an edge
  22. kid — child
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. stick — to attach or keep to

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