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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. That must've been a ________________.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  5. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  8. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  9. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  21. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  22. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  23. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. rush — a thrill
  3. mine — for digging
  4. rush — to hurry
  5. rock — a stone
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. present — there
  8. rock — to move gently
  9. rock — music
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. drill — army training
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. capital — a city
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. hand — help
  16. drill — a practice
  17. capital — money
  18. present — a gift
  19. drill — the tool
  20. mouse — for a computer
  21. present — the time now
  22. mouse — the animal
  23. mouse — the animal
  24. hand — in cards

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