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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.

Make a worksheet

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. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  6. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  10. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  13. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  14. That must've been a ________________.
  15. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. wind — moving air
  5. rush — to hurry
  6. racket — a loud noise
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. game — wild animals
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. rest — what's left
  11. wind — moving air
  12. rest — a break
  13. rest — what's left
  14. rush — a thrill
  15. drill — a practice
  16. drill — the tool
  17. drill — army training
  18. game — a match

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