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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. I've got to change the light ________________.
  3. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  4. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  5. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. That must've been a ________________.
  8. She's very handy with a ________________.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. The King held a masked ________________.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. He works in a ________________ mill.
  20. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  21. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  22. The light ________________ burned out.
  23. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. bulb — for light
  3. ball — a great time
  4. ball — a round shape
  5. jam — to spread on bread
  6. chest — of your body
  7. rush — a thrill
  8. saw — the tool
  9. wound — an injury
  10. mine — for digging
  11. bulb — of a plant
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. ball — a dance
  15. wound — an injury
  16. chest — of your body
  17. jam — in traffic
  18. chest — a box
  19. saw — the tool
  20. rush — to hurry
  21. jam — a tight spot
  22. bulb — for light
  23. saw — past of 'see'
  24. mine — an explosive

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