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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. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  2. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  3. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  4. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  5. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  6. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  7. That must've been a ________________.
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  14. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  20. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  21. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — to hurry
  2. rest — what's left
  3. fan — to cool the air
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. wake — to stop sleeping
  6. rest — a break
  7. rush — a thrill
  8. row — to paddle
  9. net — after costs
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. spring — the season
  12. wake — a trail
  13. rush — hurry
  14. rest — what's left
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. row — a line
  17. net — for catching
  18. spring — of water
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. hide — animal skin
  21. wake — before a funeral
  22. spring — a coil
  23. net — in sport
  24. fan — a supporter

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