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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. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  10. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. That must've been a ________________.
  15. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  20. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  21. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  22. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. pass — a permit
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. row — to paddle
  5. spring — of water
  6. band — a ring
  7. spring — the season
  8. ground — a position
  9. foot — the bottom
  10. rush — to hurry
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. board — to get on
  13. band — a music group
  14. rush — a thrill
  15. pass — to succeed
  16. spring — a coil
  17. board — a committee
  18. row — a line
  19. foot — a measure
  20. foot — part of the body
  21. pass — to spend time
  22. board — a flat piece
  23. ground — crushed
  24. ground — the earth

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