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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. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  4. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  5. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  6. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  9. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  12. That must've been a ________________.
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  15. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  16. Did you ________________ the meat?
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  22. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  23. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  24. Let us try to swim against the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. drill — army training
  4. rash — a series
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. mouse — the animal
  7. wind — moving air
  8. season — in sport
  9. rush — to hurry
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. drill — a practice
  12. rush — a thrill
  13. drill — the tool
  14. current — happening now
  15. rush — hurry
  16. season — to add flavour
  17. wind — moving air
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. row — to paddle
  20. row — a line
  21. current — electric
  22. season — of the year
  23. mouse — for a computer
  24. current — of water

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