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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. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. My mare is ________________ in color.
  7. That must've been a ________________.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  15. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  16. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  19. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  20. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. net — for catching
  3. hand — in cards
  4. rush — to hurry
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. bay — a horse colour
  7. rush — a thrill
  8. spring — the season
  9. net — in sport
  10. bay — to keep at bay
  11. capital — a city
  12. spring — of water
  13. capital — money
  14. wave — with your hand
  15. bay — a part of the sea
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. stick — to attach or keep to
  19. wave — a sudden rise
  20. wave — of the sea
  21. net — after costs
  22. hand — help
  23. spring — a coil
  24. stick — a piece of wood

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