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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: rush · pop · temple · sharp · hand · land · saw · club

  1. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  3. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. He works in a ________________ mill.
  6. That must've been a ________________.
  7. It's one o'clock ________________.
  8. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  9. We're almost out of ________________.
  10. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. She's very handy with a ________________.
  14. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. You don't need to ________________ round.
  17. When was this ________________ built?
  18. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  19. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  20. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  23. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  24. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. saw — past of 'see'
  4. land — to come down
  5. saw — the tool
  6. rush — a thrill
  7. sharp — exactly
  8. rush — to hurry
  9. pop — soda
  10. club — a group
  11. hand — help
  12. hand — in cards
  13. saw — the tool
  14. club — for golf
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. pop — to visit
  17. temple — a place of worship
  18. club — for dancing
  19. temple — side of the head
  20. sharp — clever
  21. land — a country
  22. pop — music
  23. sharp — with an edge
  24. land — ground

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