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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. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  2. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. That was ________________ to happen.
  10. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  11. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a hole
  2. net — for catching
  3. pit — in a race
  4. march — the month
  5. bound — tied together
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. bore — to drill
  8. march — music
  9. bound — certain
  10. bound — obliged
  11. pit — a fruit stone
  12. kid — child
  13. bore — gave birth
  14. march — the month
  15. net — after costs
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. last — finally
  18. cell — in biology
  19. cell — a phone
  20. kid — to tease
  21. last — final
  22. net — in sport
  23. bore — to tire
  24. last — to go on

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