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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. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  5. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. That must've been a ________________.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  10. Don't do anything ________________.
  11. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  12. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  13. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  20. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  23. The ________________ took off on time.
  24. Tom got himself in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. spell — a short time
  3. row — a line
  4. rush — to hurry
  5. safe — a strongbox
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. rush — a thrill
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. safe — out of danger
  10. rash — hasty
  11. jam — to spread on bread
  12. rash — on the skin
  13. jam — in traffic
  14. spell — letters
  15. wind — moving air
  16. spell — magic
  17. row — to paddle
  18. rash — a series
  19. plane — a tool
  20. safe — out of danger
  21. wind — moving air
  22. plane — in geometry
  23. plane — an aircraft
  24. jam — a tight spot

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