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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. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  2. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. Where did you ________________ them?
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  13. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  17. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  18. That must've been a ________________.
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  24. He refilled his coffee ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — a face
  2. rush — hurry
  3. march — the month
  4. wave — of the sea
  5. chest — a box
  6. mug — to rob
  7. chest — of your body
  8. march — music
  9. root — of a plant
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. wound — an injury
  12. root — the cause
  13. root — of a word
  14. net — in sport
  15. chest — of your body
  16. rush — to hurry
  17. wave — a sudden rise
  18. rush — a thrill
  19. net — for catching
  20. net — after costs
  21. march — the month
  22. wound — an injury
  23. wave — with your hand
  24. mug — a cup

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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