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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. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  12. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  13. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  14. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  20. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  21. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  24. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — a thrill
  2. cell — in biology
  3. cell — a phone
  4. wind — moving air
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. bore — gave birth
  7. file — a document
  8. squash — to crush
  9. fork — a garden tool
  10. file — a line of people
  11. rush — to hurry
  12. fork — to eat with
  13. rush — hurry
  14. squash — the vegetable
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. bore — to drill
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. file — a tool
  19. squash — the sport
  20. snap — to click
  21. snap — to speak sharply
  22. wind — moving air
  23. bore — to tire
  24. fork — in a road

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