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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. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  3. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  4. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  5. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  15. That must've been a ________________.
  16. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  17. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  18. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  19. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  23. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. bear — the animal
  3. track — a song
  4. sharp — with an edge
  5. track — to keep track
  6. spring — of water
  7. sharp — clever
  8. rush — to hurry
  9. game — wild animals
  10. bear — to put up with
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. bass — the instrument
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. track — a path
  15. rush — a thrill
  16. bass — low music
  17. pound — to hit hard
  18. bass — the fish
  19. bear — the animal
  20. spring — the season
  21. game — a match
  22. pound — for dogs
  23. pound — a weight
  24. spring — a coil

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