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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. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  2. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  3. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  6. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  7. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  8. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  11. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  16. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  17. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  18. It's one o'clock ________________.
  19. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  20. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  21. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  22. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  23. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  24. We were using a ________________ as a seat.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — the tool
  2. rock — music
  3. drill — army training
  4. spell — letters
  5. wake — to stop sleeping
  6. cap — a lid
  7. pit — a hole
  8. wake — before a funeral
  9. spell — a short time
  10. cap — of ice
  11. drill — a practice
  12. wake — a trail
  13. sharp — clever
  14. spell — magic
  15. pit — in a race
  16. root — of a plant
  17. pit — a fruit stone
  18. sharp — exactly
  19. root — of a word
  20. rock — to move gently
  21. sharp — with an edge
  22. root — the cause
  23. cap — a hat
  24. rock — a stone

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