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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: rush · rash · mine · roll · kid · tear · present · wave

  1. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  6. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  15. We're on a ________________ here.
  16. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  19. That must've been a ________________.
  20. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  21. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. rash — on the skin
  4. kid — to tease
  5. rush — hurry
  6. wave — a sudden rise
  7. kid — child
  8. wave — with your hand
  9. tear — from crying
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. tear — to rip
  12. wave — of the sea
  13. rash — a series
  14. roll — a cake
  15. roll — on a roll
  16. rush — to hurry
  17. mine — for digging
  18. present — there
  19. rush — a thrill
  20. present — the time now
  21. roll — a list
  22. tear — from crying
  23. present — a gift
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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