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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. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  3. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  4. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  5. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. That must've been a ________________.
  10. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  14. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  15. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  20. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  21. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. safe — out of danger
  3. safe — out of danger
  4. ruler — for measuring
  5. bowl — a dish
  6. degree — from a university
  7. spring — of water
  8. cold — an illness
  9. rush — a thrill
  10. ruler — a monarch
  11. wax — to grow
  12. degree — an amount
  13. ruler — for measuring
  14. wax — for sculpting
  15. bowl — a football final
  16. cold — not warm
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. degree — temperature
  19. safe — a strongbox
  20. wax — in the ear
  21. bowl — to roll
  22. spring — a coil
  23. rush — to hurry
  24. spring — the season

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