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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. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  7. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  14. Did you ________________ the meat?
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  17. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  19. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  20. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  21. That must've been a ________________.
  22. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. Spring is a pleasant ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — to hurry
  2. file — a tool
  3. sharp — clever
  4. file — a line of people
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. branch — of a tree
  7. kick — in football
  8. ground — a position
  9. branch — a division
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. rush — hurry
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. branch — of a bank
  14. season — to add flavour
  15. file — a document
  16. cue — a hint
  17. cue — for pool
  18. ground — crushed
  19. season — in sport
  20. cue — a signal
  21. rush — a thrill
  22. kick — with a leg
  23. ground — the earth
  24. season — of the year

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