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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: rush · rock · hand · object · rule · sharp · bear · spring

  1. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. That must've been a ________________.
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  5. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  15. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  16. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  17. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  18. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  21. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  22. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  23. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  24. A black ________________ roamed the forest.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. rush — a thrill
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. rush — to hurry
  5. rock — a stone
  6. hand — in cards
  7. sharp — clever
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. spring — a coil
  10. spring — of water
  11. object — an aim
  12. spring — the season
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. rock — to move gently
  15. bear — to put up with
  16. object — a thing
  17. object — to protest
  18. rule — to rule out
  19. hand — help
  20. rock — music
  21. rule — a law
  22. rule — government
  23. bear — the animal
  24. bear — the animal

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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