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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. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  2. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  3. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  4. That must've been a ________________.
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  12. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  17. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  20. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  21. How do you ________________ your surname?
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  24. He is an ace ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — to hurry
  2. track — a song
  3. rush — hurry
  4. rush — a thrill
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. spell — magic
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. pit — a hole
  12. track — to keep track
  13. hand — in cards
  14. drill — the tool
  15. hand — help
  16. pit — a fruit stone
  17. perch — the fish
  18. spell — a short time
  19. pit — in a race
  20. track — a path
  21. spell — letters
  22. drill — army training
  23. drill — a practice
  24. pitcher — in baseball

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