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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. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. That must've been a ________________.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  9. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  10. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  11. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?

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. row — a quarrel
  4. rush — a thrill
  5. kid — to tease
  6. last — finally
  7. kid — child
  8. patient — calm and waiting
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. rush — to hurry
  11. wax — for sculpting
  12. last — to go on
  13. firm — steady
  14. row — to paddle
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. wax — to grow
  17. firm — a company
  18. spring — a coil
  19. spring — of water
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. spring — the season
  22. firm — decided
  23. last — final
  24. wax — in the ear

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