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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. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. This piece is in a major ________________.
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  5. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  6. The King held a masked ________________.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. I can't ________________ this cold.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  13. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  14. He is an ace ________________.
  15. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  20. That must've been a ________________.
  21. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  22. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  23. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  24. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. key — in music
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. rule — government
  5. key — for a lock
  6. ball — a dance
  7. chest — a box
  8. key — the most important part
  9. wind — moving air
  10. stand — to bear
  11. wind — moving air
  12. rule — to rule out
  13. ball — a round shape
  14. pitcher — in baseball
  15. ball — a great time
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. chest — of your body
  18. chest — of your body
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. rush — a thrill
  21. rush — to hurry
  22. stand — on your feet
  23. rule — a law
  24. stand — for spectators

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