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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. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  4. That must've been a ________________.
  5. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  6. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  7. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  13. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  14. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  17. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  19. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  20. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  21. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  22. Where did you ________________ them?
  23. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. club — for dancing
  3. squash — the vegetable
  4. rush — a thrill
  5. current — of water
  6. dip — to dunk
  7. club — a group
  8. hand — in cards
  9. club — for golf
  10. hand — help
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. stem — to come from
  13. dip — a sauce
  14. mug — a cup
  15. squash — to crush
  16. rush — to hurry
  17. dip — to sink
  18. stem — of a plant
  19. squash — the sport
  20. current — electric
  21. current — happening now
  22. mug — to rob
  23. mug — a face
  24. stem — a stem cell

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