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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: last · rush · season · cap · bat · snap · bear · row

  1. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  2. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  6. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  7. That must've been a ________________.
  8. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  11. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  12. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. snap — to snap out of it
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. last — finally
  5. bear — to put up with
  6. rush — hurry
  7. rush — a thrill
  8. season — of the year
  9. snap — to click
  10. cap — a lid
  11. cap — of ice
  12. bear — the animal
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. snap — to speak sharply
  15. bat — the animal
  16. cap — a hat
  17. last — to go on
  18. rush — to hurry
  19. last — final
  20. season — in sport
  21. row — to paddle
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. row — a line
  24. bat — for baseball

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