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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. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  3. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. Have you met the new head ________________?
  6. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  13. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  21. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. That must've been a ________________.
  24. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. firm — decided
  3. rush — hurry
  4. spring — of water
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. firm — a company
  7. race — the arms race
  8. chest — a box
  9. net — after costs
  10. race — humankind
  11. chest — of your body
  12. rash — on the skin
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. spring — the season
  15. race — a contest
  16. chest — of your body
  17. spring — a coil
  18. rash — a series
  19. net — in sport
  20. firm — steady
  21. rush — to hurry
  22. net — for catching
  23. rush — a thrill
  24. coach — pulled by horses

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