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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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  7. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  8. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  13. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  16. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  17. That must've been a ________________.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  21. Did you ________________ the meat?
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. When was this ________________ built?
  24. You shouldn't ________________ things.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. temple — side of the head
  4. shower — to wash
  5. spring — a coil
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. season — of the year
  9. cold — not warm
  10. temple — a place of worship
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. rock — to move gently
  13. season — in sport
  14. shower — rain
  15. rock — music
  16. stick — to attach or keep to
  17. rush — a thrill
  18. cold — an illness
  19. spring — the season
  20. rock — a stone
  21. season — to add flavour
  22. spring — of water
  23. temple — a place of worship
  24. rush — to hurry

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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