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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 120 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 girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  7. That must've been a ________________.
  8. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  9. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  14. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  19. It's one o'clock ________________.
  20. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  21. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  22. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  23. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  24. The ________________ change colour in autumn.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. row — a line
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. root — of a word
  5. chest — of your body
  6. row — to paddle
  7. rush — a thrill
  8. leaves — lets stay
  9. bowl — a football final
  10. drill — a practice
  11. drill — the tool
  12. chest — of your body
  13. bowl — a dish
  14. bowl — to roll
  15. chest — a box
  16. sharp — with an edge
  17. drill — army training
  18. root — the cause
  19. sharp — exactly
  20. sharp — clever
  21. rush — to hurry
  22. root — of a plant
  23. leaves — to go away
  24. leaves — of a tree

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