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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. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  3. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  6. Have you met the new head ________________?
  7. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  10. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. That must've been a ________________.
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. file — a line of people
  3. rule — to rule out
  4. file — a tool
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. drill — a practice
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. rush — to hurry
  10. rule — government
  11. prune — to trim
  12. shower — to wash
  13. drill — army training
  14. court — of a king
  15. shower — rain
  16. rule — a law
  17. prune — to trim
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. court — for sport
  20. file — a document
  21. rush — a thrill
  22. drill — the tool
  23. court — of law
  24. coach — pulled by horses

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