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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: wound · bat · mate · rush · face · stick · tube · drill

  1. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  2. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  6. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  7. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  11. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  12. That must've been a ________________.
  13. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  14. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  15. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  16. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. Have you found your soul ________________?
  19. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  20. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — to hurry
  2. tube — the underground
  3. wound — an injury
  4. bat — the animal
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. mate — a friend
  8. drill — the tool
  9. wound — an injury
  10. face — to point toward
  11. stick — to attach or keep to
  12. rush — a thrill
  13. rush — hurry
  14. tube — in a tire
  15. tube — a container
  16. face — part of the head
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. mate — a partner
  19. face — to confront
  20. drill — army training
  21. drill — a practice
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. mate — to breed
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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