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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. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  2. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  11. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  17. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  18. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  21. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  24. The players ran onto the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. pitch — a sales talk
  3. drill — a practice
  4. cell — in biology
  5. bore — to tire
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. drill — army training
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. hide — animal skin
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. drill — the tool
  14. march — the month
  15. wound — an injury
  16. bore — gave birth
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. bore — to drill
  19. march — music
  20. chair — a leader
  21. cell — a phone
  22. march — the month
  23. pitch — completely
  24. pitch — a sports field

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