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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. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  5. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  6. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. That must've been a ________________.
  9. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  10. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  11. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. When will it ________________ you to start?
  18. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  24. You shouldn't ________________ things.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. lean — to bend
  3. march — music
  4. drill — the tool
  5. rest — a break
  6. lean — thin
  7. kid — to tease
  8. rush — a thrill
  9. lean — to rest against
  10. drill — army training
  11. rest — what's left
  12. race — humankind
  13. rest — what's left
  14. race — a contest
  15. kid — child
  16. march — the month
  17. suit — to fit
  18. suit — in cards
  19. march — the month
  20. race — the arms race
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. suit — clothes
  23. drill — a practice
  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