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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. He is an ace ________________.
  2. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  3. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  9. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  13. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  14. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  15. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  16. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. David sat on the ________________.
  19. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  20. How do you ________________ your surname?
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — in baseball
  2. spell — magic
  3. drill — the tool
  4. hand — help
  5. swing — in golf
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. staff — employees
  9. present — a gift
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. hand — in cards
  12. present — the time now
  13. staff — employees
  14. spell — a short time
  15. present — there
  16. staff — a stick
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. swing — to play on
  19. swing — music
  20. spell — letters
  21. bat — the animal
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. drill — a practice
  24. drill — army training

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