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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: content · rush · date · ruler · chair · hand · drill · cold

  1. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  2. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  3. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. Have you settled on a ________________?
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  16. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  17. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. That must've been a ________________.
  24. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. date — the fruit
  2. ruler — for measuring
  3. drill — the tool
  4. content — happy
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. hand — help
  8. rush — to hurry
  9. chair — a leader
  10. rush — hurry
  11. hand — in cards
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. ruler — for measuring
  16. drill — army training
  17. drill — a practice
  18. cold — an illness
  19. cold — not warm
  20. ruler — a monarch
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. content — the amount
  23. rush — a thrill
  24. chair — to sit on

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