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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 120 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. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  2. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. He works in a ________________ mill.
  5. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  13. I'll be taking the ________________.
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  16. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  17. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  18. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. She's very handy with a ________________.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — past of 'see'
  2. drill — army training
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. saw — the tool
  5. drill — the tool
  6. field — a subject
  7. last — finally
  8. shower — to wash
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. bat — the animal
  11. last — to go on
  12. tube — in a tire
  13. tube — the underground
  14. drill — a practice
  15. pit — a hole
  16. pit — a fruit stone
  17. pit — in a race
  18. tube — a container
  19. field — farmland
  20. saw — the tool
  21. last — final
  22. shower — rain
  23. field — for sport
  24. bat — in an idiom

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