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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. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  11. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  12. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. That must've been a ________________.
  19. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  20. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  21. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  22. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. can — a tin
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. cold — not warm
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. last — to go on
  7. bore — to drill
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. last — finally
  10. pit — a hole
  11. rush — to hurry
  12. bore — to tire
  13. cold — an illness
  14. snap — to click
  15. bore — gave birth
  16. spring — the season
  17. spring — a coil
  18. rush — a thrill
  19. pit — in a race
  20. pit — a fruit stone
  21. can — a tin
  22. can — to be able to
  23. spring — of water
  24. last — final

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