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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. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  4. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  5. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  6. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  7. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  10. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  11. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  12. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. The King held a masked ________________.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  21. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  22. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. pound — a weight
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. pound — for dogs
  6. rule — to rule out
  7. ball — a great time
  8. drill — the tool
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. rule — government
  11. drill — a practice
  12. racket — a loud noise
  13. last — to go on
  14. kid — to tease
  15. ball — a dance
  16. shower — rain
  17. pound — to hit hard
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. shower — to wash
  20. drill — army training
  21. ball — a round shape
  22. rule — a law
  23. kid — child
  24. last — final

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