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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. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  2. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. It's one o'clock ________________.
  6. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  12. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  21. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  22. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  23. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in biology
  2. deal — to handle
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. sharp — exactly
  6. deal — a big deal
  7. march — the month
  8. bass — low music
  9. sharp — clever
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. bass — the fish
  12. bass — the instrument
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. deal — an agreement
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. cell — a phone
  17. march — the month
  18. mine — for digging
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. bore — gave birth
  22. bore — to tire
  23. bore — to drill
  24. march — 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