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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. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  3. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  4. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  7. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  14. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  15. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  16. That must've been a ________________.
  17. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  18. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  22. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  23. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. wound — past of 'wind'
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. pitch — completely
  5. wound — an injury
  6. lie — to recline
  7. rush — to hurry
  8. cold — an illness
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. row — to paddle
  11. bore — gave birth
  12. wound — an injury
  13. kick — with a leg
  14. bore — to drill
  15. kick — a thrill
  16. rush — a thrill
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. pitch — a sales talk
  19. cold — not warm
  20. row — a line
  21. pitch — a sports field
  22. kick — in football
  23. bore — to tire
  24. cold — the Cold War

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