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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 116 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. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  2. This piece is in a major ________________.
  3. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  4. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  5. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  8. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  12. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. Hard work is the ________________ to success.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — the tool
  2. key — in music
  3. object — an aim
  4. bore — to tire
  5. bore — to drill
  6. race — a contest
  7. bore — gave birth
  8. object — to protest
  9. race — the arms race
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. drill — a practice
  12. key — for a lock
  13. march — the month
  14. field — a subject
  15. field — for sport
  16. march — the month
  17. bat — the animal
  18. drill — army training
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. field — farmland
  21. object — a thing
  22. race — humankind
  23. march — music
  24. key — the most important part

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