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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 116 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: bowl · kid · pop · pass · wound · wake · rush · land

  1. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  4. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  5. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  6. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. That must've been a ________________.
  9. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. We're almost out of ________________.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  16. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  21. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. You don't need to ________________ round.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. bowl — to roll
  4. bowl — a football final
  5. wake — before a funeral
  6. pass — to succeed
  7. kid — child
  8. rush — a thrill
  9. pass — a permit
  10. wound — an injury
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. wake — a trail
  13. pop — soda
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. bowl — a dish
  16. pop — music
  17. wound — an injury
  18. kid — to tease
  19. land — to come down
  20. pass — to spend time
  21. rush — to hurry
  22. land — a country
  23. land — ground
  24. pop — to visit

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