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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. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  6. What do you think of the new ________________?
  7. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  10. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  11. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  12. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  13. That must've been a ________________.
  14. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  15. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  16. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. It's one o'clock ________________.
  21. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  22. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. wound — past of 'wind'
  3. bat — the animal
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. sharp — with an edge
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. rush — to hurry
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. bore — to tire
  10. sharp — clever
  11. rush — hurry
  12. cabinet — a cupboard
  13. rush — a thrill
  14. bore — to drill
  15. scale — size or range
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. wound — an injury
  19. wound — an injury
  20. sharp — exactly
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. bore — gave birth
  23. scale — in music
  24. scale — for weighing

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