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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. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  4. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  5. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  6. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  15. That must've been a ________________.
  16. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  22. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  23. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  24. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. rush — hurry
  4. staff — employees
  5. bank — of a river
  6. spell — a short time
  7. spell — letters
  8. shower — rain
  9. shower — to wash
  10. staff — a stick
  11. bat — the animal
  12. cold — not warm
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. bank — for money
  15. rush — a thrill
  16. wake — before a funeral
  17. cold — an illness
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. rush — to hurry
  20. wake — a trail
  21. wake — to stop sleeping
  22. staff — employees
  23. bank — for money
  24. spell — magic

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