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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. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  2. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  3. Don't do anything ________________.
  4. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  7. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  8. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  11. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  12. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. That must've been a ________________.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  23. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  24. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — all right
  2. rush — to hurry
  3. rash — hasty
  4. rush — hurry
  5. chest — of your body
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. fine — high quality
  8. wax — to grow
  9. march — the month
  10. stick — to attach or keep to
  11. fine — a penalty
  12. club — for golf
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. wax — in the ear
  15. march — music
  16. club — for dancing
  17. chest — a box
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. march — the month
  20. rush — a thrill
  21. chest — of your body
  22. club — a group
  23. rash — on the skin
  24. rash — a series

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