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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. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  2. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  3. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  4. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  7. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  8. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  9. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  23. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — in music
  2. drill — the tool
  3. bore — to drill
  4. fall — to drop
  5. kid — child
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. drill — a practice
  8. bore — gave birth
  9. bore — to tire
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. fall — to drop
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. capital — money
  16. capital — a city
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. kid — to tease
  19. stick — to attach or keep to
  20. bat — the animal
  21. drill — army training
  22. scale — for weighing
  23. fall — the season
  24. scale — size or range

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