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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 124 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. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  9. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  13. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  14. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  19. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  20. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. last — to go on
  4. file — a line of people
  5. bore — to drill
  6. spell — letters
  7. bat — the animal
  8. racket — a loud noise
  9. craft — a handicraft
  10. file — a document
  11. spell — a short time
  12. dip — to dunk
  13. bore — gave birth
  14. dip — to sink
  15. spell — magic
  16. craft — boats
  17. file — a tool
  18. bore — to tire
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. dip — a sauce
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. craft — a skill
  23. last — final
  24. bat — for baseball

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