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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. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  5. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  6. My mare is ________________ in color.
  7. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  10. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  11. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  12. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. It's one o'clock ________________.
  15. That must've been a ________________.
  16. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  17. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  18. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  21. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  22. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. pit — a fruit stone
  3. drill — a practice
  4. pitch — completely
  5. craft — a skill
  6. bay — a horse colour
  7. craft — boats
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. pitch — a sales talk
  10. craft — a handicraft
  11. pitch — a sports field
  12. drill — army training
  13. shower — to wash
  14. sharp — exactly
  15. rush — a thrill
  16. pit — in a race
  17. rush — to hurry
  18. bay — a part of the sea
  19. drill — the tool
  20. pit — a hole
  21. sharp — clever
  22. bay — to keep at bay
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. shower — rain

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