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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 124 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. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  3. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  4. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  5. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  6. Where did you ________________ them?
  7. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  8. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  9. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  10. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  11. That must've been a ________________.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  14. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  15. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  16. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  19. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  22. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. pitch — completely
  3. mug — a cup
  4. rush — to hurry
  5. toast — a drink to someone
  6. mug — to rob
  7. pound — for dogs
  8. toast — bread
  9. bear — the animal
  10. pitch — a sports field
  11. rush — a thrill
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. pitch — a sales talk
  14. pound — to hit hard
  15. bear — to put up with
  16. pound — a weight
  17. race — a contest
  18. race — the arms race
  19. toast — the most admired
  20. bat — the animal
  21. bear — the animal
  22. mug — a face
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. race — humankind

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