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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 116 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. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  11. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  17. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  18. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  19. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  20. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. The tickets are free of ________________.
  24. That must've been a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — to hurry
  2. wound — an injury
  3. kick — in football
  4. file — a tool
  5. dip — a sauce
  6. field — a subject
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. wound — an injury
  10. dip — to dunk
  11. kick — with a leg
  12. shower — to wash
  13. file — a document
  14. file — a line of people
  15. shower — rain
  16. rush — hurry
  17. charge — electricity
  18. charge — in control
  19. dip — to sink
  20. kick — a thrill
  21. field — farmland
  22. field — for sport
  23. charge — a price
  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