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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. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. That must've been a ________________.
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  16. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  17. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  18. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. row — a line
  3. rush — a thrill
  4. cell — in biology
  5. mine — for digging
  6. file — a tool
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. rush — to hurry
  10. file — a document
  11. row — to paddle
  12. can — a tin
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. cell — a phone
  15. can — a tin
  16. pass — to spend time
  17. can — to be able to
  18. pass — a permit
  19. wind — moving air
  20. wind — moving air
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. pass — to succeed
  24. file — a line of people

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