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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. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  3. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  4. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  5. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  6. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  14. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  15. That must've been a ________________.
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  19. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  20. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  21. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  24. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. cap — a lid
  3. track — a path
  4. cap — of ice
  5. track — a song
  6. rush — to hurry
  7. spell — letters
  8. hand — help
  9. spell — a short time
  10. squash — the sport
  11. squash — to crush
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. cap — a hat
  14. track — to keep track
  15. rush — a thrill
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. spell — magic
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. rest — a break
  20. rest — what's left
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. hand — in cards
  23. rest — what's left
  24. perch — the fish

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