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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. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  9. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  13. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. This piece is in a major ________________.
  23. Don't do anything ________________.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. field — farmland
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. shower — rain
  5. drill — army training
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. key — the most important part
  9. key — for a lock
  10. field — a subject
  11. last — to go on
  12. rash — a series
  13. rash — on the skin
  14. last — finally
  15. shower — to wash
  16. drill — a practice
  17. last — final
  18. drill — the tool
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. field — for sport
  22. key — in music
  23. rash — hasty
  24. bat — the animal

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