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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 116 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. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  4. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  5. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  12. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  17. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  18. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  22. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  24. Can you turn the ________________ on?

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. sharp — clever
  3. drill — army training
  4. bore — gave birth
  5. sharp — with an edge
  6. spell — letters
  7. drill — the tool
  8. land — ground
  9. bat — the animal
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. spell — magic
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. bore — to tire
  15. land — to come down
  16. pitch — completely
  17. pitch — a sports field
  18. bore — to drill
  19. land — a country
  20. spell — a short time
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. pitch — a sales talk
  23. drill — a practice
  24. fan — to cool the air

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