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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. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  4. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  5. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. The King held a masked ________________.
  14. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. I'll be taking the ________________.
  17. My mare is ________________ in color.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. That must've been a ________________.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  22. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.

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. bay — a part of the sea
  4. tube — in a tire
  5. bay — to keep at bay
  6. tear — from crying
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. game — wild animals
  9. object — a thing
  10. tear — to rip
  11. object — to protest
  12. wound — an injury
  13. ball — a dance
  14. ball — a round shape
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. tube — the underground
  17. bay — a horse colour
  18. tear — from crying
  19. rush — a thrill
  20. game — a match
  21. tube — a container
  22. ball — a great time
  23. wound — an injury
  24. object — an aim

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