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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. That must've been a ________________.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  10. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. When will it ________________ you to start?
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  18. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  19. Don't do anything ________________.
  20. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  24. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — a thrill
  2. march — the month
  3. dip — a sauce
  4. chair — a leader
  5. kid — child
  6. wound — an injury
  7. rush — to hurry
  8. wound — an injury
  9. suit — in cards
  10. rush — hurry
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. suit — to fit
  14. march — music
  15. march — the month
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. rash — on the skin
  18. dip — to dunk
  19. rash — hasty
  20. rash — a series
  21. kid — to tease
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. suit — clothes
  24. dip — to sink

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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