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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. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  2. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  3. That must've been a ________________.
  4. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  9. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  22. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  23. Where did you ________________ them?
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — a cup
  2. rush — to hurry
  3. rush — a thrill
  4. wake — a trail
  5. tear — to rip
  6. drill — a practice
  7. cold — an illness
  8. mug — a face
  9. wake — before a funeral
  10. tear — from crying
  11. mouse — the animal
  12. drill — the tool
  13. march — the month
  14. cold — not warm
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. march — the month
  17. mouse — for a computer
  18. march — music
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. tear — from crying
  21. wake — to stop sleeping
  22. rush — hurry
  23. mug — to rob
  24. drill — army training

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