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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. That must've been a ________________.
  2. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. The ________________ took off on time.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  9. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. Where did you ________________ them?
  12. He is an ace ________________.
  13. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  14. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  15. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. You shouldn't ________________ things.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — a thrill
  2. chest — a box
  3. spring — the season
  4. plane — an aircraft
  5. chest — of your body
  6. file — a line of people
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. plane — a tool
  9. mug — a face
  10. wound — an injury
  11. mug — to rob
  12. pitcher — in baseball
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. plane — in geometry
  16. wound — an injury
  17. rush — hurry
  18. chest — of your body
  19. mug — a cup
  20. spring — of water
  21. file — a document
  22. file — a tool
  23. spring — a coil
  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