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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. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  3. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  4. The ________________ took off on time.
  5. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  6. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  7. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  10. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  11. Don't do anything ________________.
  12. That must've been a ________________.
  13. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  14. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  17. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  18. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  19. I'll be taking the ________________.
  20. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. David sat on the ________________.
  23. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  24. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. swing — in golf
  3. kick — in football
  4. plane — an aircraft
  5. swing — music
  6. plane — in geometry
  7. rash — a series
  8. tear — to rip
  9. bear — the animal
  10. kick — with a leg
  11. rash — hasty
  12. rush — a thrill
  13. tube — in a tire
  14. kick — a thrill
  15. tear — from crying
  16. bear — to put up with
  17. rush — to hurry
  18. rash — on the skin
  19. tube — the underground
  20. tube — a container
  21. tear — from crying
  22. swing — to play on
  23. bear — the animal
  24. plane — a tool

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