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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. That must've been a ________________.
  2. It's one o'clock ________________.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  17. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  18. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  19. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  22. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  23. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  24. Take your time. There's no ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — a thrill
  2. sharp — exactly
  3. spring — the season
  4. spring — of water
  5. cell — a phone
  6. cell — in biology
  7. squash — the vegetable
  8. squash — to crush
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. drill — the tool
  11. wind — moving air
  12. spring — a coil
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. drill — a practice
  15. drill — army training
  16. sharp — clever
  17. sharp — with an edge
  18. chip — to eat
  19. chip — in a computer
  20. wind — moving air
  21. squash — the sport
  22. chip — for betting
  23. rush — to hurry
  24. rush — hurry

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