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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. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  3. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  7. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  8. That must've been a ________________.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  12. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  13. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  16. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  17. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  18. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. drill — the tool
  3. staff — a stick
  4. drill — army training
  5. race — humankind
  6. kick — in football
  7. staff — employees
  8. rush — a thrill
  9. wound — an injury
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. rush — to hurry
  12. rest — a break
  13. staff — employees
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. kick — with a leg
  16. rest — what's left
  17. kick — a thrill
  18. rest — what's left
  19. drill — a practice
  20. wind — moving air
  21. race — a contest
  22. race — the arms race
  23. wound — an injury
  24. wind — moving air

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