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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. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  3. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  4. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  5. The King held a masked ________________.
  6. Don't do anything ________________.
  7. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  12. He works in a ________________ mill.
  13. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. That must've been a ________________.
  17. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  18. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  19. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. She's very handy with a ________________.
  24. Would you like some apricot ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. wake — before a funeral
  3. saw — past of 'see'
  4. rush — to hurry
  5. ball — a dance
  6. rash — hasty
  7. ball — a round shape
  8. content — the amount
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. jam — in traffic
  12. saw — the tool
  13. jam — a tight spot
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. wake — a trail
  16. rush — a thrill
  17. rash — on the skin
  18. ball — a great time
  19. rash — a series
  20. content — happy
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. saw — the tool
  24. jam — to spread on bread

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