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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. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  5. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  6. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  7. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  8. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  19. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  20. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  21. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. That must've been a ________________.
  24. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. wake — a trail
  3. race — a contest
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. mouse — for a computer
  6. bear — the animal
  7. bear — to put up with
  8. rush — to hurry
  9. cold — an illness
  10. cold — not warm
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. march — music
  13. march — the month
  14. race — the arms race
  15. squash — to crush
  16. squash — the sport
  17. march — the month
  18. bear — the animal
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. squash — the vegetable
  21. race — humankind
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. rush — a thrill
  24. wake — before a funeral

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