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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: rule · wind · pop · march · rush · hand · bear · key

  1. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  8. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  9. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  10. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  11. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. This piece is in a major ________________.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  16. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  17. We're almost out of ________________.
  18. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. That must've been a ________________.
  24. You don't need to ________________ round.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. wind — moving air
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. wind — moving air
  5. pop — music
  6. hand — in cards
  7. key — the most important part
  8. rule — to rule out
  9. bear — the animal
  10. bear — the animal
  11. rule — a law
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. key — in music
  14. march — the month
  15. bear — to put up with
  16. key — for a lock
  17. pop — soda
  18. rush — to hurry
  19. hand — help
  20. march — music
  21. rule — government
  22. march — the month
  23. rush — a thrill
  24. pop — to visit

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