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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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  4. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  5. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  6. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  9. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. The King held a masked ________________.
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  23. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  24. The kitten curled into a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. sharp — clever
  3. bore — gave birth
  4. pitch — a sports field
  5. bore — to tire
  6. mouse — the animal
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. ball — a great time
  9. drill — army training
  10. race — humankind
  11. pitch — a sales talk
  12. last — to go on
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. last — finally
  15. ball — a dance
  16. drill — the tool
  17. bore — to drill
  18. race — a contest
  19. mouse — for a computer
  20. race — the arms race
  21. drill — a practice
  22. mouse — the animal
  23. pitch — completely
  24. ball — a round shape

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