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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. He is an ace ________________.
  2. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  3. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  12. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. The tickets are free of ________________.
  20. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  24. 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. pitcher — in baseball
  2. firm — steady
  3. bore — to tire
  4. spring — a coil
  5. firm — decided
  6. march — the month
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. march — music
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. firm — a company
  12. charge — electricity
  13. spring — the season
  14. bat — the animal
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. march — the month
  17. bore — gave birth
  18. bark — to shout
  19. charge — a price
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. spring — of water
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. charge — in control
  24. 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