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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: tube · degree · rash · date · land · rule · kid · cue

  1. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  2. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. I'll be taking the ________________.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  8. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  9. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  12. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  15. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  16. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  17. Have you settled on a ________________?
  18. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. rash — hasty
  3. rule — government
  4. land — ground
  5. tube — the underground
  6. kid — to tease
  7. tube — in a tire
  8. rule — a law
  9. cue — a signal
  10. degree — from a university
  11. tube — a container
  12. cue — for pool
  13. degree — temperature
  14. cue — a hint
  15. rule — to rule out
  16. rash — a series
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. date — the fruit
  19. land — to come down
  20. degree — an amount
  21. land — a country
  22. rash — on the skin
  23. kid — child
  24. date — on the calendar

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