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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. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  4. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  7. I'll be taking the ________________.
  8. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  12. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  15. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  16. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  19. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  20. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  23. The ________________ went through the wall.
  24. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — with an edge
  2. row — a line
  3. nail — on a finger
  4. sharp — clever
  5. last — finally
  6. fork — a garden tool
  7. tube — the underground
  8. tube — in a tire
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. kick — with a leg
  13. last — final
  14. kick — a thrill
  15. bore — to tire
  16. kick — in football
  17. last — to go on
  18. bore — to drill
  19. bore — gave birth
  20. tube — a container
  21. row — to paddle
  22. fork — to eat with
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. fork — in a road

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