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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 need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  4. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  5. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  6. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. I can't ________________ this cold.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  20. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  24. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — the tool
  2. kid — child
  3. staff — a stick
  4. staff — employees
  5. staff — employees
  6. fine — high quality
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. fine — all right
  9. wound — an injury
  10. kid — to tease
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. file — a tool
  13. mine — for digging
  14. file — a document
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. drill — a practice
  17. stand — to bear
  18. file — a line of people
  19. stand — for spectators
  20. stand — on your feet
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. drill — army training
  23. wound — an injury
  24. fine — a penalty

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