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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. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. That must've been a ________________.
  3. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  4. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  5. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  6. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  7. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  8. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  18. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. Don't do anything ________________.
  24. I seem to be developing a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. rush — a thrill
  3. rash — a series
  4. rush — hurry
  5. dip — a sauce
  6. firm — decided
  7. dip — to dunk
  8. dip — to sink
  9. wind — moving air
  10. band — a music group
  11. rush — to hurry
  12. cold — not warm
  13. mine — for digging
  14. band — a ring
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. wind — moving air
  17. firm — steady
  18. firm — a company
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. cold — an illness
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. rash — hasty
  24. rash — on the skin

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