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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 116 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. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  6. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  7. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. The tickets are free of ________________.
  12. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. That must've been a ________________.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  19. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  20. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  21. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. file — a line of people
  3. court — for sport
  4. file — a tool
  5. rest — a break
  6. charge — electricity
  7. charge — in control
  8. cold — an illness
  9. court — of law
  10. wound — an injury
  11. charge — a price
  12. bore — gave birth
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. wound — an injury
  15. rush — a thrill
  16. court — of a king
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. rush — to hurry
  19. bore — to tire
  20. rest — what's left
  21. bore — to drill
  22. cold — not warm
  23. file — a document
  24. rest — what's left

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