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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. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  3. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  6. Don't do anything ________________.
  7. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. My mare is ________________ in color.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  22. That must've been a ________________.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. wound — past of 'wind'
  3. rush — to hurry
  4. shower — to wash
  5. season — in sport
  6. rash — hasty
  7. rash — a series
  8. shower — rain
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. rash — on the skin
  11. content — the amount
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. content — happy
  14. bay — a horse colour
  15. wound — an injury
  16. bay — a part of the sea
  17. clip — a video
  18. season — of the year
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. wound — an injury
  21. bay — to keep at bay
  22. rush — a thrill
  23. clip — for paper
  24. clip — to cut

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