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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. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  3. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  4. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  11. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  12. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  13. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  14. That must've been a ________________.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  18. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  19. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  20. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  21. He is an ace ________________.
  22. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  23. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  24. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. wake — to stop sleeping
  3. wake — before a funeral
  4. racket — a loud noise
  5. chest — of your body
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. hand — in cards
  8. hand — help
  9. chest — a box
  10. ruler — for measuring
  11. ruler — a monarch
  12. ruler — for measuring
  13. wake — a trail
  14. rush — a thrill
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. chest — of your body
  17. rush — to hurry
  18. bore — to tire
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. bore — gave birth
  21. pitcher — in baseball
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. bore — to drill

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