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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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468
Word bank
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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 ________________ took off on time.
  3. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  4. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  5. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  6. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  7. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  8. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  9. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  10. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  11. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  12. That must've been a ________________.
  13. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  14. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. plane — an aircraft
  3. rest — what's left
  4. rest — a break
  5. rush — to hurry
  6. plane — in geometry
  7. foot — the bottom
  8. foot — a measure
  9. rest — what's left
  10. fine — a penalty
  11. pound — a weight
  12. rush — a thrill
  13. foot — part of the body
  14. fine — all right
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. plane — a tool
  17. kid — child
  18. cell — a phone
  19. pound — for dogs
  20. kid — to tease
  21. fine — high quality
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. pound — to hit hard
  24. cell — in biology

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