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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 116 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. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  7. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  8. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  9. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  10. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  11. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  12. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. That must've been a ________________.
  17. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  18. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  19. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  20. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  21. David sat on the ________________.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  24. The spa offers ________________ extensions.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. land — a country
  3. cap — a lid
  4. file — a tool
  5. land — ground
  6. bear — to put up with
  7. craft — a skill
  8. rush — to hurry
  9. swing — music
  10. lash — to lash out
  11. swing — in golf
  12. cap — a hat
  13. file — a line of people
  14. cap — of ice
  15. land — to come down
  16. rush — a thrill
  17. craft — boats
  18. lash — a whip stroke
  19. bear — the animal
  20. bear — the animal
  21. swing — to play on
  22. file — a document
  23. craft — a handicraft
  24. lash — an eyelash

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