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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. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  5. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  6. What do you think of the new ________________?
  7. When will it ________________ you to start?
  8. The King held a masked ________________.
  9. The ________________ went through the wall.
  10. That must've been a ________________.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  16. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  19. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  22. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — to hurry
  2. mine — for digging
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. suit — clothes
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. suit — to fit
  8. ball — a dance
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. rush — a thrill
  11. cold — an illness
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. bat — the animal
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. nail — on a finger
  16. ball — a round shape
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. ball — a great time
  19. suit — in cards
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. rush — hurry
  22. cabinet — a cupboard
  23. cold — not warm
  24. nail — for a hammer

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