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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. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  13. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — clever
  2. last — to go on
  3. safe — out of danger
  4. chair — a leader
  5. bore — to tire
  6. game — a match
  7. last — finally
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. bore — to drill
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. safe — out of danger
  13. bore — gave birth
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. safe — a strongbox
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. wound — an injury
  19. mine — for digging
  20. last — final
  21. wound — an injury
  22. game — wild animals
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. chair — a professorship

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