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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. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  3. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  4. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  5. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  6. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  7. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  11. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  12. David sat on the ________________.
  13. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. That must've been a ________________.
  18. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  22. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. Should I buy a wireless ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. mouse — the animal
  3. drill — army training
  4. kick — a thrill
  5. kick — with a leg
  6. drill — a practice
  7. rush — to hurry
  8. tear — from crying
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. kick — in football
  12. swing — to play on
  13. swing — in golf
  14. drill — the tool
  15. wave — a sudden rise
  16. wound — an injury
  17. rush — a thrill
  18. wave — of the sea
  19. tear — from crying
  20. tear — to rip
  21. wave — with your hand
  22. swing — music
  23. wound — an injury
  24. mouse — for a computer

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