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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. False peace will not ________________.
  2. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  3. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. I'll be taking the ________________.
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  12. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  16. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. tube — a container
  3. drill — the tool
  4. cell — in biology
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. net — in sport
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. tube — the underground
  9. drill — a practice
  10. chair — a leader
  11. wake — a trail
  12. tube — in a tire
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. last — final
  15. wake — before a funeral
  16. wake — to stop sleeping
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. cell — a phone
  19. chair — to sit on
  20. net — for catching
  21. net — after costs
  22. drill — army training
  23. bat — the animal
  24. last — finally

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