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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. David sat on the ________________.
  2. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  7. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. It's one o'clock ________________.
  10. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  11. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  12. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  13. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  16. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  20. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  21. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  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. swing — to play on
  2. sharp — with an edge
  3. shower — rain
  4. drill — a practice
  5. shower — to wash
  6. drill — the tool
  7. drill — army training
  8. spring — the season
  9. sharp — exactly
  10. bore — to tire
  11. stem — of a plant
  12. bore — gave birth
  13. sharp — clever
  14. spring — a coil
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. spring — of water
  18. swing — in golf
  19. stem — to come from
  20. mouse — for a computer
  21. stem — a stem cell
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. swing — music
  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