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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 116 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. The water is too ________________.
  2. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. That must've been a ________________.
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  18. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  19. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  22. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. You shouldn't ________________ things.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. pass — to spend time
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. rush — a thrill
  5. prune — to trim
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. rest — a break
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. mine — for digging
  11. pass — a permit
  12. row — to paddle
  13. wake — before a funeral
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. row — a line
  16. prune — to trim
  17. rest — what's left
  18. wake — a trail
  19. pass — to succeed
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. rush — hurry
  22. rest — what's left
  23. cold — an illness
  24. rush — to hurry

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