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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 124 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. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. David sat on the ________________.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  7. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  8. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  19. That must've been a ________________.
  20. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  21. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  24. Did you ________________ the meat?

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. rush — to hurry
  3. content — happy
  4. swing — to play on
  5. degree — an amount
  6. swing — music
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. mouse — for a computer
  9. degree — from a university
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. season — of the year
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. band — a ring
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. band — a music group
  17. degree — temperature
  18. season — in sport
  19. rush — a thrill
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. hide — animal skin
  22. content — the amount
  23. swing — in golf
  24. season — to add flavour

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