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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 120 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. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  3. That must've been a ________________.
  4. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  8. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  9. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  10. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  11. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  15. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  18. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  21. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  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. rule — a law
  3. rush — a thrill
  4. face — to point toward
  5. row — a line
  6. chest — of your body
  7. bank — of a river
  8. face — part of the head
  9. face — to confront
  10. rule — to rule out
  11. snap — to click
  12. chest — of your body
  13. chest — a box
  14. bear — the animal
  15. bank — for money
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. bear — the animal
  18. bear — to put up with
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. rule — government
  21. bank — for money
  22. row — to paddle
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  24. rush — to hurry

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