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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
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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: date · shower · rule · degree · arm · nail · mine · object

  1. Have you settled on a ________________?
  2. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  3. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  11. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  12. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  13. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  14. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  15. My father caught me by the ________________.
  16. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. The ________________ went through the wall.
  20. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  21. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. rule — a law
  3. object — to protest
  4. mine — for digging
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. degree — an amount
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. degree — from a university
  10. object — a thing
  11. arm — a part of something
  12. nail — on a finger
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. date — the fruit
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. rule — government
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. degree — temperature
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. object — an aim
  21. rule — to rule out
  22. shower — rain
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. shower — to wash

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