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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. It's one o'clock ________________.
  2. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. The light ________________ burned out.
  9. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  14. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  15. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  16. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  17. He is an ace ________________.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  21. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. I've got to change the light ________________.
  24. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — exactly
  2. object — to protest
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. cell — a phone
  5. sharp — clever
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. cold — an illness
  8. bulb — for light
  9. bore — to tire
  10. last — finally
  11. bore — to drill
  12. cell — in biology
  13. sharp — with an edge
  14. object — a thing
  15. bore — gave birth
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. pitcher — in baseball
  18. last — final
  19. cold — not warm
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. object — an aim
  22. last — to go on
  23. bulb — for light
  24. bulb — of a plant

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