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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. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  2. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  7. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  11. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  12. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  13. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  19. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  20. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  21. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  22. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  23. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  24. This piece is in a major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. mark — a trace
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. drill — the tool
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. drill — a practice
  7. drill — army training
  8. hand — help
  9. last — to go on
  10. cap — a lid
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. mark — a grade
  13. key — for a lock
  14. hand — in cards
  15. last — final
  16. last — finally
  17. racket — a loud noise
  18. sharp — clever
  19. sharp — with an edge
  20. mark — to pay attention
  21. cap — of ice
  22. key — the most important part
  23. cap — a hat
  24. key — in music

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