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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.

Make a worksheet

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. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  3. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  4. That must've been a ________________.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  12. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  13. Don't do anything ________________.
  14. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  15. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  16. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  20. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. spell — magic
  3. bear — the animal
  4. rush — a thrill
  5. spell — letters
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. rash — on the skin
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. rash — a series
  12. rush — to hurry
  13. rash — hasty
  14. bear — the animal
  15. stick — to attach or keep to
  16. bear — to put up with
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. mine — for digging
  19. stick — a piece of wood
  20. stick — a piece of wood
  21. row — to paddle
  22. spell — a short time
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. row — a line

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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