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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. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  3. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  4. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  5. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. That must've been a ________________.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  10. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  11. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  19. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — to pay attention
  2. rush — hurry
  3. foot — part of the body
  4. pit — in a race
  5. mark — a trace
  6. shower — rain
  7. rush — a thrill
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. rush — to hurry
  10. mark — a grade
  11. foot — the bottom
  12. shower — to wash
  13. pit — a fruit stone
  14. net — for catching
  15. chest — of your body
  16. chest — a box
  17. net — in sport
  18. pit — a hole
  19. net — after costs
  20. wound — an injury
  21. foot — a measure
  22. chest — of your body
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. wound — an injury

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