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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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  9. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  10. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  19. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. last — to go on
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. last — final
  5. shower — to wash
  6. ruler — for measuring
  7. march — the month
  8. foot — the bottom
  9. foot — part of the body
  10. ruler — for measuring
  11. shower — rain
  12. foot — a measure
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. ruler — a monarch
  15. net — for catching
  16. bore — to tire
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. bore — gave birth
  19. bore — to drill
  20. net — in sport
  21. net — after costs
  22. march — music
  23. last — finally
  24. march — the month

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