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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. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  3. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  8. The ________________ went through the wall.
  9. That must've been a ________________.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. When will it ________________ you to start?
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  21. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  24. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. suit — in cards
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. cold — not warm
  7. nail — on a finger
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. rush — a thrill
  10. mine — for digging
  11. cold — an illness
  12. suit — to fit
  13. content — happy
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. stock — shares
  16. stock — goods
  17. suit — clothes
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. content — the amount
  20. club — for dancing
  21. rush — to hurry
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. club — for golf
  24. club — a group

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