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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. That must've been a ________________.
  2. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  3. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  13. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  14. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  15. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  16. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  17. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  18. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  24. You shouldn't ________________ things.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — a thrill
  2. ruler — for measuring
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. spring — a coil
  5. ruler — a monarch
  6. chest — of your body
  7. file — a tool
  8. rush — hurry
  9. chest — a box
  10. file — a document
  11. chest — of your body
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. root — of a plant
  14. root — the cause
  15. racket — a loud noise
  16. root — of a word
  17. wax — for sculpting
  18. wax — in the ear
  19. spring — the season
  20. file — a line of people
  21. wax — to grow
  22. spring — of water
  23. ruler — for measuring
  24. rush — to hurry

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