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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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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: date · race · land · rash · rest · firm · cue · bore

  1. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  5. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  11. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  12. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  13. Have you settled on a ________________?
  14. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  17. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  18. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  19. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  22. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  23. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  24. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. land — a country
  4. rash — on the skin
  5. cue — a signal
  6. race — a contest
  7. race — the arms race
  8. firm — a company
  9. race — humankind
  10. bore — to drill
  11. bore — to tire
  12. date — the fruit
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. bore — gave birth
  15. land — to come down
  16. firm — steady
  17. rest — a break
  18. cue — a hint
  19. rest — what's left
  20. land — ground
  21. rash — a series
  22. rest — what's left
  23. firm — decided
  24. cue — for pool

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