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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. That must've been a ________________.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  5. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  17. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. When will it ________________ you to start?
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. rush — a thrill
  3. spell — letters
  4. pass — a permit
  5. rush — to hurry
  6. march — music
  7. pass — to spend time
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. march — the month
  10. spell — a short time
  11. march — the month
  12. pass — to succeed
  13. drill — the tool
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. spell — magic
  16. suit — in cards
  17. suit — clothes
  18. kid — child
  19. hand — help
  20. kid — to tease
  21. suit — to fit
  22. hand — in cards
  23. drill — a practice
  24. drill — army training

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