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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. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  2. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  3. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  4. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  5. That must've been a ________________.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  10. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  11. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  12. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  13. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. My father caught me by the ________________.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  21. This piece is in a major ________________.
  22. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — to hurry
  2. rush — hurry
  3. present — the time now
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. rush — a thrill
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. land — ground
  8. spring — a coil
  9. present — a gift
  10. present — there
  11. arm — a part of something
  12. key — the most important part
  13. racket — a loud noise
  14. land — to come down
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. land — a country
  17. spring — the season
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. wound — an injury
  20. key — for a lock
  21. key — in music
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. spring — of water
  24. wound — an injury

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