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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. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  7. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  8. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. That must've been a ________________.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  18. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  19. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  20. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  21. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  22. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  23. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  24. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. cap — a lid
  3. cold — not warm
  4. wind — moving air
  5. spring — the season
  6. fine — high quality
  7. fine — a penalty
  8. bowl — a football final
  9. cold — an illness
  10. rush — a thrill
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. mark — a trace
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. spring — a coil
  15. spring — of water
  16. wind — moving air
  17. fine — all right
  18. mark — to pay attention
  19. mark — a grade
  20. cap — of ice
  21. bowl — to roll
  22. bowl — a dish
  23. rush — to hurry
  24. cap — a hat

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