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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: date · net · rule · stick · fall · rash · kick · sharp

  1. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  2. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  5. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  6. Don't do anything ________________.
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  9. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  10. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. Have you settled on a ________________?
  13. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  14. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  15. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  16. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  17. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  18. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  19. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  20. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  21. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  22. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  23. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  24. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. net — for catching
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. sharp — with an edge
  6. rash — hasty
  7. net — in sport
  8. kick — in football
  9. fall — the season
  10. kick — with a leg
  11. fall — to drop
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. sharp — clever
  14. date — the fruit
  15. rule — government
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. fall — to drop
  18. stick — to attach or keep to
  19. rule — to rule out
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. rash — a series
  22. kick — a thrill
  23. rash — on the skin
  24. rule — a law

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