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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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  3. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  4. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. He is an ace ________________.
  13. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  20. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  21. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. We have nothing to ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. drill — the tool
  3. pit — a fruit stone
  4. race — the arms race
  5. kid — to tease
  6. kid — child
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. spring — the season
  9. pit — a hole
  10. race — humankind
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. pitcher — in baseball
  13. hide — animal skin
  14. spring — a coil
  15. drill — a practice
  16. last — to go on
  17. race — a contest
  18. spring — of water
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. pit — in a race
  22. drill — army training
  23. last — finally
  24. hide — to keep secret

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