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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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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: squash · land · tube · rule · hand · bank · rush · mine

  1. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  2. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  3. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. That must've been a ________________.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  12. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  18. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  19. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  20. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  21. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  22. I'll be taking the ________________.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — to hurry
  2. rule — a law
  3. bank — of a river
  4. land — a country
  5. mine — for digging
  6. rush — a thrill
  7. hand — in cards
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. tube — a container
  10. land — ground
  11. rush — hurry
  12. squash — the sport
  13. land — to come down
  14. hand — help
  15. bank — for money
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. rule — government
  18. squash — the vegetable
  19. squash — to crush
  20. tube — in a tire
  21. rule — to rule out
  22. tube — the underground
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. bank — for money

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