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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. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  6. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. My mare is ________________ in color.
  17. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  18. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  21. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  22. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  23. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  24. That must've been a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. hand — in cards
  3. wound — an injury
  4. wound — an injury
  5. kick — in football
  6. bass — the fish
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. hand — help
  9. kick — a thrill
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. rush — to hurry
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. cell — in biology
  15. cell — a phone
  16. bay — a horse colour
  17. kick — with a leg
  18. bay — to keep at bay
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. bass — the instrument
  21. sharp — clever
  22. bass — low music
  23. bay — a part of the sea
  24. rush — a thrill

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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