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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. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. When was this ________________ built?
  5. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  8. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  12. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  13. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  14. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  15. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  16. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  17. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  18. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  21. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  22. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  23. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  24. We had a fire ________________ at school today.

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

Answer key

  1. jam — to spread on bread
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. wound — an injury
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. cue — a signal
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. drill — the tool
  8. temple — a place of worship
  9. wound — an injury
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. present — a gift
  12. cue — for pool
  13. bore — to tire
  14. jam — in traffic
  15. present — there
  16. drill — army training
  17. bore — gave birth
  18. bore — to drill
  19. bat — the animal
  20. jam — a tight spot
  21. present — the time now
  22. temple — side of the head
  23. cue — a hint
  24. drill — a practice

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