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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. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  6. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  7. That must've been a ________________.
  8. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  9. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  13. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  14. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  17. Have you met the new head ________________?
  18. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  19. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  20. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  21. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  22. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  23. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  24. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. mine — for digging
  5. cue — a hint
  6. squash — the sport
  7. rush — a thrill
  8. bore — to tire
  9. object — a thing
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. wake — to stop sleeping
  13. object — an aim
  14. rush — to hurry
  15. wake — a trail
  16. wake — before a funeral
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. object — to protest
  19. squash — to crush
  20. bore — gave birth
  21. coach — pulled by horses
  22. bore — to drill
  23. cue — a signal
  24. cue — for pool

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