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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. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  3. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  4. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  9. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  10. That must've been a ________________.
  11. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  12. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  13. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  18. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  19. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  20. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  24. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. pit — in a race
  3. pit — a fruit stone
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. mine — for digging
  6. rush — to hurry
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. deal — an agreement
  10. rush — a thrill
  11. deal — a big deal
  12. hide — animal skin
  13. pit — a hole
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. object — a thing
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. deal — to handle
  18. club — for golf
  19. club — a group
  20. club — for dancing
  21. cold — not warm
  22. cold — an illness
  23. object — to protest
  24. object — an aim

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