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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. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  6. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  9. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  20. That must've been a ________________.
  21. Don't do anything ________________.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. scale — size or range
  4. clip — for paper
  5. scale — for weighing
  6. rash — a series
  7. clip — to cut
  8. current — happening now
  9. current — electric
  10. spell — letters
  11. spell — a short time
  12. clip — a video
  13. current — of water
  14. hand — in cards
  15. scale — in music
  16. hand — help
  17. rush — to hurry
  18. spell — magic
  19. content — happy
  20. rush — a thrill
  21. rash — hasty
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. content — the amount
  24. content — videos and posts

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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