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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. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  2. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  6. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  7. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. When will it ________________ you to start?
  10. That must've been a ________________.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  17. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  18. Where did you ________________ them?
  19. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  20. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  21. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  22. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. suit — clothes
  2. rush — hurry
  3. tear — from crying
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. mug — a face
  6. rush — to hurry
  7. mug — a cup
  8. tear — to rip
  9. suit — to fit
  10. rush — a thrill
  11. row — a line
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. cold — not warm
  15. tear — from crying
  16. present — a gift
  17. suit — in cards
  18. mug — to rob
  19. present — there
  20. stick — a piece of wood
  21. stick — to attach or keep to
  22. present — the time now
  23. row — to paddle
  24. cold — an illness

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