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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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  4. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  5. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  6. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  9. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  10. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  11. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. What do you think of the new ________________?
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  19. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  20. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  21. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  22. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  23. That must've been a ________________.
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. wake — before a funeral
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. pit — in a race
  6. face — to point toward
  7. cold — not warm
  8. wake — a trail
  9. pit — a hole
  10. pit — a fruit stone
  11. rest — what's left
  12. net — in sport
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. rest — a break
  16. net — for catching
  17. cold — an illness
  18. rush — to hurry
  19. rest — what's left
  20. face — to confront
  21. cabinet — a cupboard
  22. face — part of the head
  23. rush — a thrill
  24. net — after costs

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