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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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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: cold · rush · calf · swing · mark · tear · pass · perch

  1. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  2. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  8. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  9. That must've been a ________________.
  10. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  14. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  15. David sat on the ________________.
  16. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  17. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  18. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  19. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  20. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  21. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  22. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  23. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  24. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — to hurry
  2. tear — to rip
  3. cold — an illness
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. tear — from crying
  7. pass — to spend time
  8. pass — a permit
  9. rush — a thrill
  10. perch — the fish
  11. tear — from crying
  12. cold — not warm
  13. pass — to succeed
  14. mark — to pay attention
  15. swing — to play on
  16. mark — a grade
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. mark — a trace
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. swing — music
  21. rush — hurry
  22. calf — of the leg
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. swing — in golf

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