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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: rule · game · hand · lean · roll · date · last · lash

  1. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  2. Have you settled on a ________________?
  3. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  4. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  7. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  16. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  19. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  22. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  23. We're on a ________________ here.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — a law
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. rule — government
  4. lean — to bend
  5. hand — help
  6. lean — to rest against
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. last — final
  9. lash — an eyelash
  10. game — wild animals
  11. last — to go on
  12. hand — in cards
  13. lash — a whip stroke
  14. last — finally
  15. rule — to rule out
  16. date — the fruit
  17. game — a match
  18. lash — to lash out
  19. lean — thin
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. roll — a cake
  22. roll — a list
  23. roll — on a roll
  24. game — a kind of play

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