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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. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  5. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  10. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  17. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  20. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  21. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  22. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  23. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  24. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. bore — gave birth
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. leaves — of a tree
  6. last — finally
  7. kick — with a leg
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. leaves — lets stay
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. court — for sport
  12. court — of law
  13. last — to go on
  14. leaves — to go away
  15. court — of a king
  16. squash — to crush
  17. stick — to attach or keep to
  18. last — final
  19. bore — to tire
  20. squash — the vegetable
  21. squash — the sport
  22. kick — in football
  23. bore — to drill
  24. kick — a thrill

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