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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. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  4. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  5. Don't do anything ________________.
  6. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  7. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  8. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  11. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  14. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  15. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  16. That must've been a ________________.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  23. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  24. The polar ice ________________ is melting.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — to hurry
  2. bat — the animal
  3. craft — boats
  4. staff — a stick
  5. rash — hasty
  6. rush — hurry
  7. cap — a hat
  8. rash — on the skin
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. face — to point toward
  11. face — to confront
  12. chest — of your body
  13. staff — employees
  14. face — part of the head
  15. craft — a skill
  16. rush — a thrill
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. staff — employees
  19. chest — of your body
  20. rash — a series
  21. chest — a box
  22. craft — a handicraft
  23. cap — a lid
  24. cap — of ice

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