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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 124 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 players ran onto the football ________________.
  3. That must've been a ________________.
  4. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  5. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. Have you met the new head ________________?
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  18. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  19. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  20. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. pitch — a sports field
  3. rush — a thrill
  4. rule — a law
  5. pit — a fruit stone
  6. game — wild animals
  7. pit — a hole
  8. tear — from crying
  9. game — a match
  10. coach — pulled by horses
  11. tear — from crying
  12. tear — to rip
  13. pitch — a sales talk
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. bark — to shout
  17. pit — in a race
  18. rush — to hurry
  19. pitch — completely
  20. rule — to rule out
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. rule — government

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