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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. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  4. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. That must've been a ________________.
  12. Where did you ________________ them?
  13. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  14. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  17. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  18. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  19. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  23. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  24. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. tear — from crying
  3. cue — a hint
  4. cue — a signal
  5. file — a line of people
  6. cold — not warm
  7. file — a document
  8. root — the cause
  9. tear — from crying
  10. tear — to rip
  11. rush — a thrill
  12. mug — to rob
  13. mug — a cup
  14. cue — for pool
  15. cold — an illness
  16. bowl — a dish
  17. mug — a face
  18. rush — to hurry
  19. bowl — a football final
  20. file — a tool
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. root — of a plant
  23. root — of a word
  24. bowl — to roll

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