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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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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: fine · row · mine · rest · bat · cold · stick · rush

  1. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  4. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  5. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  14. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  15. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  16. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. That must've been a ________________.
  21. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  22. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. I assure you, everything's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — a penalty
  2. mine — for digging
  3. rest — what's left
  4. row — to paddle
  5. rest — what's left
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. cold — not warm
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. rest — a break
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. row — a line
  13. rush — hurry
  14. rush — to hurry
  15. fine — high quality
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. bat — the animal
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. cold — an illness
  20. rush — a thrill
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. stick — to attach or keep to
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. fine — all right

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