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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. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. Don't do anything ________________.
  5. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  13. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  14. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  19. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. That must've been a ________________.
  23. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  24. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. rush — hurry
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. rash — hasty
  5. dip — a sauce
  6. wind — moving air
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. dip — to dunk
  9. snap — to click
  10. snap — to speak sharply
  11. ground — crushed
  12. pound — for dogs
  13. pound — a weight
  14. rash — a series
  15. game — a match
  16. game — wild animals
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. dip — to sink
  19. rush — to hurry
  20. ground — the earth
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. rush — a thrill
  23. pound — to hit hard
  24. ground — a position

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