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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. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  4. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. That must've been a ________________.
  9. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  13. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  14. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. I'll be taking the ________________.
  17. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  18. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  19. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  22. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  23. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  24. We have nothing to ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. club — for dancing
  3. tube — in a tire
  4. rush — hurry
  5. rash — a series
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. race — humankind
  8. rush — a thrill
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. wake — a trail
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. perch — the fish
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. hide — animal skin
  15. race — a contest
  16. tube — the underground
  17. club — for golf
  18. club — a group
  19. wake — to stop sleeping
  20. race — the arms race
  21. rash — on the skin
  22. rush — to hurry
  23. tube — a container
  24. hide — to keep secret

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