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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. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  3. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  4. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  7. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. It's one o'clock ________________.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  16. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  17. That must've been a ________________.
  18. When will it ________________ you to start?
  19. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  20. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  21. Don't do anything ________________.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  24. The King held a masked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. suit — in cards
  3. rash — a series
  4. trunk — of a tree
  5. sharp — clever
  6. ball — a round shape
  7. trunk — of an elephant
  8. cold — not warm
  9. sharp — exactly
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. suit — clothes
  12. wax — to grow
  13. wax — in the ear
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. ball — a great time
  16. trunk — of a car
  17. rush — a thrill
  18. suit — to fit
  19. rash — on the skin
  20. wax — for sculpting
  21. rash — hasty
  22. cold — an illness
  23. rush — to hurry
  24. ball — a dance

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