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

  1. False peace will not ________________.
  2. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  3. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  4. The ________________ took off on time.
  5. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  6. I'll be taking the ________________.
  7. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  8. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  9. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  10. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  11. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  12. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  13. Have you found your soul ________________?
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  16. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  21. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. fine — all right
  3. pitch — a sales talk
  4. plane — an aircraft
  5. fine — high quality
  6. tube — the underground
  7. tube — a container
  8. mate — a friend
  9. pitch — completely
  10. drill — the tool
  11. tube — in a tire
  12. plane — a tool
  13. mate — a partner
  14. drill — a practice
  15. pitch — a sports field
  16. fine — a penalty
  17. last — final
  18. kid — to tease
  19. last — finally
  20. mate — to breed
  21. plane — in geometry
  22. drill — army training
  23. kid — child
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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