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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: mine · rash · rule · degree · bark · rush · leaves · capital

  1. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  2. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  4. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. Don't do anything ________________.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  14. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  15. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  16. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  19. That must've been a ________________.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — to hurry
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. rule — a law
  4. rule — government
  5. bark — to shout
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. degree — temperature
  8. rash — hasty
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. capital — a city
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. leaves — lets stay
  14. rush — hurry
  15. rule — to rule out
  16. leaves — of a tree
  17. rash — a series
  18. leaves — to go away
  19. rush — a thrill
  20. mine — for digging
  21. degree — an amount
  22. capital — money
  23. degree — from a university
  24. capital — a big letter

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