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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. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  5. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  6. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. It's one o'clock ________________.
  19. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to tire
  2. face — to confront
  3. wound — an injury
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. cap — a hat
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. wound — an injury
  9. face — to point toward
  10. racket — a loud noise
  11. last — to go on
  12. cap — a lid
  13. last — finally
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. bore — gave birth
  16. band — a music group
  17. band — a ring
  18. sharp — exactly
  19. face — part of the head
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. cap — of ice
  22. sharp — clever
  23. last — final
  24. bore — to drill

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