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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. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. That must've been a ________________.
  24. Is it ________________ for us to be here?

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. file — a tool
  3. last — finally
  4. safe — out of danger
  5. last — final
  6. squash — to crush
  7. file — a line of people
  8. ruler — a monarch
  9. march — music
  10. safe — a strongbox
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. ruler — for measuring
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. rush — to hurry
  15. march — the month
  16. file — a document
  17. ruler — for measuring
  18. bat — the animal
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. squash — the sport
  21. last — to go on
  22. march — the month
  23. rush — a thrill
  24. safe — out of danger

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