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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. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  3. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  6. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  7. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  10. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. Did you ________________ the meat?
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  17. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  18. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  21. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  22. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. That must've been a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — to pay attention
  2. perch — the fish
  3. rush — hurry
  4. wind — moving air
  5. mark — a grade
  6. drill — the tool
  7. mark — a trace
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. season — in sport
  10. season — of the year
  11. wind — moving air
  12. drill — army training
  13. drill — a practice
  14. season — to add flavour
  15. file — a tool
  16. rush — to hurry
  17. deal — to handle
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. file — a document
  20. deal — an agreement
  21. deal — a big deal
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. file — a line of people
  24. rush — a thrill

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