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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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. Have you met the new head ________________?
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  11. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  18. It's one o'clock ________________.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  21. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  22. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  23. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. march — the month
  3. bore — gave birth
  4. cell — in biology
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. sharp — clever
  7. bore — to tire
  8. cell — a phone
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. staff — employees
  11. drill — a practice
  12. drill — the tool
  13. drill — army training
  14. coach — pulled by horses
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. march — music
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. sharp — exactly
  19. march — the month
  20. staff — a stick
  21. staff — employees
  22. sharp — with an edge
  23. bore — to drill
  24. cold — not warm

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