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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. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  5. It's one o'clock ________________.
  6. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  7. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  12. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  13. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  17. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  22. That must've been a ________________.
  23. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  24. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — the tool
  2. spring — a coil
  3. sharp — clever
  4. pit — a fruit stone
  5. sharp — exactly
  6. rush — hurry
  7. rush — to hurry
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. drill — a practice
  10. tear — from crying
  11. pit — in a race
  12. face — to point toward
  13. pit — a hole
  14. tear — to rip
  15. drill — army training
  16. deal — an agreement
  17. face — to confront
  18. spring — of water
  19. spring — the season
  20. tear — from crying
  21. face — part of the head
  22. rush — a thrill
  23. deal — a big deal
  24. deal — to handle

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