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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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. That must've been a ________________.
  4. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  5. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  6. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  7. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  8. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  9. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  10. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  11. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  18. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  19. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  23. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  24. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.

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. rush — a thrill
  4. firm — decided
  5. firm — steady
  6. firm — a company
  7. kick — with a leg
  8. cap — a lid
  9. drill — army training
  10. drill — the tool
  11. trunk — of an elephant
  12. cold — an illness
  13. trunk — of a car
  14. cold — not warm
  15. kick — a thrill
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. cap — a hat
  18. trunk — of a tree
  19. cap — of ice
  20. drill — a practice
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. snap — to click
  23. rush — to hurry
  24. kick — in football

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