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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: jam · tear · rush · game · ground · rash · fall · kick

  1. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. That must've been a ________________.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  13. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  16. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  17. Don't do anything ________________.
  18. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  19. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  23. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  24. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.

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

Answer key

  1. jam — to spread on bread
  2. game — wild animals
  3. rush — a thrill
  4. tear — from crying
  5. ground — a position
  6. rush — to hurry
  7. fall — the season
  8. tear — to rip
  9. kick — in football
  10. game — a match
  11. ground — crushed
  12. rush — hurry
  13. kick — with a leg
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. rash — on the skin
  16. rash — a series
  17. rash — hasty
  18. jam — in traffic
  19. jam — a tight spot
  20. tear — from crying
  21. ground — the earth
  22. kick — a thrill
  23. fall — to drop
  24. fall — to drop

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