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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. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  2. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  5. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  6. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  7. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  8. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  12. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  15. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. That must've been a ________________.
  19. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  23. Have you met the new head ________________?
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — to hurry
  2. lash — to lash out
  3. kid — to tease
  4. lash — an eyelash
  5. present — a gift
  6. coach — pulled by horses
  7. present — the time now
  8. rush — hurry
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. track — a path
  13. kid — child
  14. track — a song
  15. track — to keep track
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. march — music
  18. rush — a thrill
  19. lash — a whip stroke
  20. march — the month
  21. mine — for digging
  22. present — there
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. march — the month

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