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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. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  5. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  13. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  14. Have you met the new head ________________?
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  18. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  19. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  20. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  21. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  22. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  23. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. pitch — a sales talk
  3. drill — a practice
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. coach — pulled by horses
  6. last — to go on
  7. bore — to tire
  8. court — of a king
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. pitch — completely
  11. last — final
  12. drill — army training
  13. present — a gift
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. court — of law
  16. court — for sport
  17. pitch — a sports field
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. bore — to drill
  20. present — there
  21. present — the time now
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. bore — gave birth
  24. drill — the tool

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