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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. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  3. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  10. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  19. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  20. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. That must've been a ________________.
  23. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. rush — to hurry
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. racket — a loud noise
  6. march — music
  7. march — the month
  8. field — farmland
  9. ruler — for measuring
  10. snap — to click
  11. wind — moving air
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. field — for sport
  14. wind — moving air
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. shower — to wash
  17. shower — rain
  18. ruler — for measuring
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. snap — to snap out of it
  21. field — a subject
  22. rush — a thrill
  23. ruler — a monarch
  24. march — the month

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