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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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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 · rush · last · hand · fine · dip · present · pit

  1. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  3. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  9. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  10. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  11. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  12. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  13. That must've been a ________________.
  14. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  15. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  19. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  22. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. rush — hurry
  3. dip — a sauce
  4. hand — help
  5. hand — in cards
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. rush — to hurry
  9. fine — all right
  10. dip — to dunk
  11. present — a gift
  12. pit — in a race
  13. rush — a thrill
  14. present — the time now
  15. pit — a hole
  16. last — finally
  17. last — to go on
  18. present — there
  19. pit — a fruit stone
  20. wound — an injury
  21. dip — to sink
  22. fine — high quality
  23. wound — an injury
  24. fine — a penalty

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