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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. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  2. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  3. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  11. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. We had a fire ________________ at school today.

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

Answer key

  1. present — there
  2. present — the time now
  3. staff — a stick
  4. kid — child
  5. prune — to trim
  6. last — to go on
  7. prune — to trim
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. sharp — clever
  11. staff — employees
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. game — a match
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. present — a gift
  17. kid — to tease
  18. drill — the tool
  19. game — wild animals
  20. last — final
  21. staff — employees
  22. last — finally
  23. drill — army training
  24. drill — a practice

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