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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 116 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. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  7. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  8. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  11. That must've been a ________________.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. What do you think of the new ________________?
  14. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  15. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. Don't do anything ________________.
  24. You shouldn't ________________ things.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — a sauce
  2. march — the month
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. tear — to rip
  5. tear — from crying
  6. dip — to sink
  7. cabinet — a cupboard
  8. dip — to dunk
  9. file — a tool
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. rush — a thrill
  12. march — music
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. rush — hurry
  15. rash — on the skin
  16. march — the month
  17. rash — a series
  18. tear — from crying
  19. file — a document
  20. kid — child
  21. kid — to tease
  22. file — a line of people
  23. rash — hasty
  24. rush — to hurry

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