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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: spring · jam · net · rush · rule · pound · track · wind

  1. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  3. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  6. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  7. That must've been a ________________.
  8. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  11. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  15. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  16. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  23. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  24. Would you like some apricot ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. rule — government
  3. pound — for dogs
  4. net — for catching
  5. track — a path
  6. pound — a weight
  7. rush — a thrill
  8. track — a song
  9. net — after costs
  10. rule — a law
  11. pound — to hit hard
  12. wind — moving air
  13. wind — moving air
  14. rule — to rule out
  15. rush — to hurry
  16. track — to keep track
  17. spring — the season
  18. net — in sport
  19. spring — of water
  20. spring — a coil
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. jam — in traffic
  23. jam — a tight spot
  24. jam — to spread on bread

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