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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 120 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. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  2. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  3. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  4. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  7. That must've been a ________________.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  10. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  13. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  16. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  19. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  22. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — for dogs
  2. rule — government
  3. rule — a law
  4. rush — hurry
  5. band — a music group
  6. lash — a whip stroke
  7. rush — a thrill
  8. tear — from crying
  9. pound — a weight
  10. ruler — a monarch
  11. band — a ring
  12. pound — to hit hard
  13. lash — an eyelash
  14. tear — from crying
  15. ruler — for measuring
  16. rule — to rule out
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. scale — for weighing
  19. ruler — for measuring
  20. tear — to rip
  21. lash — to lash out
  22. rush — to hurry
  23. scale — in music
  24. scale — size or range

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