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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. I've got to change the light ________________.
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. The light ________________ burned out.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  18. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. sharp — clever
  3. bulb — for light
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. last — to go on
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. bore — to tire
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. kid — child
  12. last — finally
  13. bore — gave birth
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. bulb — for light
  16. last — final
  17. bulb — of a plant
  18. bore — to drill

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