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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. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  4. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  14. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  15. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. It's one o'clock ________________.
  18. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  19. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — with an edge
  2. last — finally
  3. bore — gave birth
  4. bore — to tire
  5. spring — a coil
  6. last — final
  7. track — to keep track
  8. bat — the animal
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. spring — of water
  11. track — a path
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. bore — to drill
  14. bear — the animal
  15. bear — to put up with
  16. game — a match
  17. sharp — exactly
  18. bear — the animal
  19. track — a song
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. sharp — clever
  22. last — to go on
  23. game — wild animals
  24. spring — the season

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