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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 ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  4. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  5. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  6. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  7. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  8. That must've been a ________________.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  13. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  14. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  15. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  19. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  20. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  21. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  22. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. The people resisted their cruel ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. bat — the animal
  3. foot — a measure
  4. ruler — for measuring
  5. kick — in football
  6. ruler — for measuring
  7. foot — the bottom
  8. rush — a thrill
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. staff — a stick
  11. hand — in cards
  12. rush — to hurry
  13. bear — to put up with
  14. staff — employees
  15. bear — the animal
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. hand — help
  18. foot — part of the body
  19. kick — with a leg
  20. staff — employees
  21. bear — the animal
  22. kick — a thrill
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. ruler — a monarch

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