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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. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  6. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  7. That must've been a ________________.
  8. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  9. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  12. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  13. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  17. We're on a ________________ here.
  18. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  19. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  20. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  21. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  22. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  23. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. present — there
  3. hand — help
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. scale — for weighing
  6. scale — in music
  7. rush — a thrill
  8. fine — a penalty
  9. present — a gift
  10. file — a tool
  11. roll — a list
  12. fine — all right
  13. bore — gave birth
  14. file — a line of people
  15. file — a document
  16. bore — to tire
  17. roll — on a roll
  18. present — the time now
  19. roll — a cake
  20. fine — high quality
  21. rush — to hurry
  22. bore — to drill
  23. scale — size or range
  24. hand — in cards

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