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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. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  8. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  13. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  14. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  15. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. What do you think of the new ________________?
  20. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  21. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — a cupboard
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. last — to go on
  4. last — final
  5. tear — from crying
  6. mate — a partner
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. drill — the tool
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. bat — the animal
  12. mate — to breed
  13. stick — to attach or keep to
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. present — a gift
  16. last — finally
  17. drill — a practice
  18. tear — from crying
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. mate — a friend
  21. present — the time now
  22. drill — army training
  23. present — there
  24. tear — to rip

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