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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.

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: pit · drill · last · game · chair · rush · ruler · mate

  1. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. That must've been a ________________.
  6. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  7. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  12. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  15. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  18. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  19. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  20. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  21. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  22. Have you found your soul ________________?
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. last — finally
  3. ruler — a monarch
  4. last — final
  5. rush — a thrill
  6. mate — a friend
  7. drill — a practice
  8. last — to go on
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. rush — to hurry
  12. drill — army training
  13. game — wild animals
  14. chair — to sit on
  15. ruler — for measuring
  16. drill — the tool
  17. pit — in a race
  18. mate — to breed
  19. pit — a fruit stone
  20. chair — a leader
  21. pit — a hole
  22. mate — a partner
  23. game — a match
  24. ruler — for measuring

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