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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. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  2. That must've been a ________________.
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  7. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  8. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  11. We're almost out of ________________.
  12. You don't need to ________________ round.
  13. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  14. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  22. Have you settled on a ________________?
  23. How do you ________________ your surname?
  24. You shouldn't ________________ things.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — a law
  2. rush — a thrill
  3. spell — a short time
  4. hand — help
  5. hand — in cards
  6. pop — music
  7. spell — magic
  8. rule — to rule out
  9. degree — temperature
  10. date — the fruit
  11. pop — soda
  12. pop — to visit
  13. rush — hurry
  14. rule — government
  15. wax — to grow
  16. wax — for sculpting
  17. degree — an amount
  18. wax — in the ear
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. degree — from a university
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. spell — letters
  24. rush — to hurry

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