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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. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  2. That must've been a ________________.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  7. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  12. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  13. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  14. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  15. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  18. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  19. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  20. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  21. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  22. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — a box
  2. rush — a thrill
  3. last — to go on
  4. chest — of your body
  5. chest — of your body
  6. rush — hurry
  7. rule — government
  8. last — finally
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. last — final
  11. rule — a law
  12. hide — animal skin
  13. squash — the vegetable
  14. squash — to crush
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. row — a line
  17. wake — before a funeral
  18. wake — a trail
  19. wake — to stop sleeping
  20. squash — the sport
  21. rule — to rule out
  22. rush — to hurry
  23. row — a quarrel
  24. row — to paddle

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