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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 120 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: kick · rush · bear · stem · rule · land · squash · pass

  1. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  2. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  10. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  11. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  12. That must've been a ________________.
  13. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  14. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  15. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  18. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  21. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  22. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — in football
  2. rush — hurry
  3. land — ground
  4. land — a country
  5. pass — a permit
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. pass — to succeed
  8. squash — the sport
  9. kick — with a leg
  10. bear — the animal
  11. squash — to crush
  12. rush — a thrill
  13. bear — to put up with
  14. pass — to spend time
  15. rush — to hurry
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. bear — the animal
  18. rule — to rule out
  19. land — to come down
  20. kick — a thrill
  21. stem — to come from
  22. rule — government
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. rule — a law

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