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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. That must've been a ________________.
  3. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  4. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  5. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  6. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. When was this ________________ built?
  9. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  13. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  14. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  20. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  21. What do you think of the new ________________?
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. rush — a thrill
  3. pitch — a sports field
  4. cabinet — a cupboard
  5. pitch — completely
  6. temple — a place of worship
  7. cold — an illness
  8. temple — a place of worship
  9. lash — to lash out
  10. row — a line
  11. row — to paddle
  12. rush — to hurry
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. lash — a whip stroke
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. prune — to trim
  17. pitch — a sales talk
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. lash — an eyelash
  20. temple — side of the head
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. prune — to trim
  24. cold — not warm

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