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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. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  3. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  4. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  5. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  6. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  7. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  8. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  9. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  12. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  17. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  19. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  20. That must've been a ________________.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  23. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  24. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. pound — for dogs
  3. bank — for money
  4. rush — to hurry
  5. racket — a loud noise
  6. scale — size or range
  7. rule — to rule out
  8. rule — government
  9. rule — a law
  10. hand — in cards
  11. rest — a break
  12. rest — what's left
  13. hand — help
  14. pound — to hit hard
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. pound — a weight
  18. scale — in music
  19. bank — of a river
  20. rush — a thrill
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. rest — what's left
  24. bank — for money

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