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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 116 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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. That must've been a ________________.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  6. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  7. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. Have you met the new head ________________?
  12. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  15. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  18. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. rush — a thrill
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. bear — to put up with
  7. wave — with your hand
  8. wound — an injury
  9. rush — to hurry
  10. wound — an injury
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. bear — the animal
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. bear — the animal
  15. coach — pulled by horses
  16. bat — the animal
  17. wave — a sudden rise
  18. wave — of the sea

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