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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: rule · content · rush · object · bulb · plane · kick · date

  1. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  2. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  3. Have you settled on a ________________?
  4. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  5. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  6. The light ________________ burned out.
  7. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  8. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  9. The ________________ took off on time.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  12. That must've been a ________________.
  13. I've got to change the light ________________.
  14. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  15. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  16. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  17. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  18. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  19. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  20. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  23. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  24. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.

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

Answer key

  1. object — to protest
  2. rule — government
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. kick — with a leg
  5. object — a thing
  6. bulb — for light
  7. rule — to rule out
  8. rush — to hurry
  9. plane — an aircraft
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. rush — a thrill
  13. bulb — for light
  14. rush — hurry
  15. rule — a law
  16. kick — in football
  17. kick — a thrill
  18. plane — a tool
  19. content — happy
  20. object — an aim
  21. content — the amount
  22. bulb — of a plant
  23. plane — in geometry
  24. date — the fruit

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