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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. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. David sat on the ________________.
  11. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. That must've been a ________________.
  16. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  19. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  20. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  21. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  22. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. Boris sat near the fire ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. pit — in a race
  3. drill — a practice
  4. pit — a fruit stone
  5. cold — not warm
  6. bark — to shout
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. swing — in golf
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. swing — to play on
  11. bowl — to roll
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. bowl — a football final
  14. drill — the tool
  15. rush — a thrill
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. swing — music
  18. drill — army training
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. hide — animal skin
  21. rush — to hurry
  22. bowl — a dish
  23. cold — an illness
  24. pit — a hole

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