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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: saw · hand · bound · temple · bear · object · rush · last

  1. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  4. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  5. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  8. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  9. That was ________________ to happen.
  10. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  11. She's very handy with a ________________.
  12. He works in a ________________ mill.
  13. When was this ________________ built?
  14. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  15. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  18. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  22. That must've been a ________________.
  23. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — to hurry
  2. last — final
  3. saw — past of 'see'
  4. bound — obliged
  5. rush — hurry
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. bear — the animal
  8. object — an aim
  9. bound — certain
  10. bear — to put up with
  11. saw — the tool
  12. saw — the tool
  13. temple — a place of worship
  14. bear — the animal
  15. object — to protest
  16. last — finally
  17. bound — tied together
  18. temple — a place of worship
  19. hand — help
  20. hand — in cards
  21. object — a thing
  22. rush — a thrill
  23. temple — side of the head
  24. last — to go on

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