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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. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  2. Have you settled on a ________________?
  3. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  6. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  7. That must've been a ________________.
  8. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  9. This piece is in a major ________________.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  12. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  18. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  19. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  20. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  21. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  24. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.

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

Answer key

  1. object — an aim
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. rest — what's left
  4. kid — child
  5. object — to protest
  6. rush — hurry
  7. rush — a thrill
  8. rule — government
  9. key — in music
  10. shower — to wash
  11. rush — to hurry
  12. key — for a lock
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. date — the fruit
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. kid — to tease
  17. rest — a break
  18. key — the most important part
  19. object — a thing
  20. rule — to rule out
  21. rest — what's left
  22. shower — rain
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. rule — a law

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