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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: ball · wind · sharp · drill · rash · cabinet · rush · last

  1. That must've been a ________________.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  4. What do you think of the new ________________?
  5. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. The King held a masked ________________.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  11. Don't do anything ________________.
  12. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  13. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. It's one o'clock ________________.
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  21. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  22. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — a thrill
  2. wind — moving air
  3. rash — on the skin
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. drill — the tool
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. ball — a dance
  8. wind — moving air
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. rush — to hurry
  11. rash — hasty
  12. rash — a series
  13. cabinet — a cupboard
  14. drill — a practice
  15. ball — a round shape
  16. last — finally
  17. sharp — exactly
  18. sharp — clever
  19. last — final
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. rush — hurry
  22. ball — a great time
  23. drill — army training
  24. last — to go on

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