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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. False peace will not ________________.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. That must've been a ________________.
  4. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  5. When was this ________________ built?
  6. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  7. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  13. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  14. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  15. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. rush — a thrill
  4. rush — to hurry
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. temple — a place of worship
  7. temple — side of the head
  8. bat — the animal
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. hand — help
  11. degree — an amount
  12. rush — hurry
  13. bank — for money
  14. rule — a law
  15. bank — for money
  16. degree — temperature
  17. rule — to rule out
  18. hand — in cards
  19. bank — of a river
  20. last — final
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. rule — government
  23. last — finally
  24. degree — from a university

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