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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. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  9. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  10. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. He is an ace ________________.
  21. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  22. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — a stone
  2. last — to go on
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. march — music
  6. march — the month
  7. file — a line of people
  8. rock — music
  9. foot — a measure
  10. rock — to move gently
  11. last — finally
  12. foot — part of the body
  13. file — a tool
  14. bore — to drill
  15. last — final
  16. foot — the bottom
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. kid — child
  19. kid — to tease
  20. pitcher — in baseball
  21. bore — to tire
  22. bore — gave birth
  23. march — the month
  24. file — a document

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