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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. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  3. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  4. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  5. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  9. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  10. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. This piece is in a major ________________.
  13. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  16. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  20. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. That must've been a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. rush — to hurry
  3. present — there
  4. key — the most important part
  5. track — a song
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. row — a line
  8. present — the time now
  9. craft — boats
  10. track — to keep track
  11. mine — for digging
  12. key — in music
  13. key — for a lock
  14. row — to paddle
  15. craft — a skill
  16. craft — a handicraft
  17. game — wild animals
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. present — a gift
  20. track — a path
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. game — a match
  24. rush — a thrill

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