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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. It's one o'clock ________________.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. I'll be taking the ________________.
  5. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  6. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  7. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  10. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  15. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  16. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  19. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  20. The light ________________ burned out.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. I've got to change the light ________________.
  24. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — exactly
  2. mine — for digging
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. tube — the underground
  5. bore — to drill
  6. bore — to tire
  7. fine — all right
  8. drill — a practice
  9. bore — gave birth
  10. fine — high quality
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. band — a ring
  14. bulb — of a plant
  15. fine — a penalty
  16. sharp — with an edge
  17. drill — army training
  18. sharp — clever
  19. tube — a container
  20. bulb — for light
  21. band — a music group
  22. drill — the tool
  23. bulb — for light
  24. tube — in a tire

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