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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. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. That must've been a ________________.
  4. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  8. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  14. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. The ________________ market has crashed.
  19. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  20. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  23. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. tear — from crying
  3. rush — a thrill
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. march — the month
  7. cue — for pool
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. game — wild animals
  10. tear — from crying
  11. spring — a coil
  12. march — the month
  13. hide — animal skin
  14. cue — a signal
  15. spring — the season
  16. march — music
  17. game — a match
  18. stock — shares
  19. rush — to hurry
  20. stock — goods
  21. tear — to rip
  22. cue — a hint
  23. stock — a soup base
  24. spring — of water

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