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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. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  3. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  4. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. The light ________________ burned out.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  21. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. I've got to change the light ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. racket — a loud noise
  3. bore — gave birth
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. last — to go on
  6. shower — to wash
  7. race — a contest
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. race — humankind
  10. race — the arms race
  11. bulb — of a plant
  12. wound — an injury
  13. content — happy
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. wound — an injury
  17. bulb — for light
  18. shower — rain
  19. content — the amount
  20. bore — to tire
  21. bore — to drill
  22. last — final
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. bulb — for light

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