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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. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  2. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  7. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  10. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  11. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  12. That must've been a ________________.
  13. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  16. That was ________________ to happen.
  17. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. rush — to hurry
  2. season — in sport
  3. land — ground
  4. wake — a trail
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. season — of the year
  7. wake — to stop sleeping
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. kick — with a leg
  10. kick — in football
  11. rest — a break
  12. rush — a thrill
  13. wake — before a funeral
  14. march — music
  15. bound — obliged
  16. bound — certain
  17. rush — hurry
  18. land — a country
  19. rest — what's left
  20. march — the month
  21. rest — what's left
  22. march — the month
  23. bound — tied together
  24. land — to come down

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