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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. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  3. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  4. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  5. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  6. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  9. It's one o'clock ________________.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  16. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  17. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  18. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  19. He is an ace ________________.
  20. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  21. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  22. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  24. That must've been a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. rush — to hurry
  3. rush — hurry
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. wake — a trail
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. row — a line
  8. rest — what's left
  9. sharp — exactly
  10. row — to paddle
  11. sharp — clever
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. patient — calm and waiting
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. wake — to stop sleeping
  17. rest — what's left
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. pitcher — in baseball
  20. perch — the fish
  21. rest — a break
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. rush — a thrill

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