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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. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  6. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  7. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  8. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  9. He works in a ________________ mill.
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  12. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  13. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  14. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. That must've been a ________________.
  17. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  18. She's very handy with a ________________.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  21. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  22. Have you met the new head ________________?
  23. He was locked up in a ________________.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. cell — a phone
  3. rush — to hurry
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. coach — pulled by horses
  6. saw — past of 'see'
  7. pass — a permit
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. saw — the tool
  10. fall — to drop
  11. pass — to succeed
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. fall — the season
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. game — a match
  16. rush — a thrill
  17. pass — to spend time
  18. saw — the tool
  19. game — wild animals
  20. fan — to cool the air
  21. fall — to drop
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. cell — in a prison
  24. cell — in biology

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