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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. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. It's one o'clock ________________.
  3. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  6. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  7. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  10. I'll be taking the ________________.
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. He is an ace ________________.
  17. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  21. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  24. Can you turn the ________________ on?

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. sharp — exactly
  3. bore — to tire
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. tube — a container
  7. bore — to drill
  8. race — the arms race
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. tube — the underground
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. wake — to stop sleeping
  13. kid — to tease
  14. bore — gave birth
  15. wake — a trail
  16. pitcher — in baseball
  17. sharp — with an edge
  18. race — humankind
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. race — a contest
  21. tube — in a tire
  22. sharp — clever
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. fan — to cool the air

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