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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: pop · race · bark · mine · rush · rest · rule · dip

  1. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  2. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  3. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  4. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  5. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  6. We're almost out of ________________.
  7. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. You don't need to ________________ round.
  14. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  15. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  16. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  20. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  21. That must've been a ________________.
  22. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. rush — hurry
  3. rule — government
  4. pop — music
  5. rule — a law
  6. pop — soda
  7. rush — to hurry
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. dip — to sink
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. bark — to shout
  12. mine — for digging
  13. pop — to visit
  14. dip — to dunk
  15. rest — what's left
  16. rest — a break
  17. race — humankind
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. rule — to rule out
  20. race — a contest
  21. rush — a thrill
  22. dip — a sauce
  23. race — the arms race
  24. mine — an explosive

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