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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. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  2. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  3. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  4. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. It's one o'clock ________________.
  7. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  8. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  9. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  10. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  11. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  15. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  16. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  17. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. The King held a masked ________________.
  23. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — the tool
  2. drill — a practice
  3. staff — employees
  4. craft — boats
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. sharp — exactly
  7. ball — a great time
  8. rest — what's left
  9. craft — a handicraft
  10. staff — employees
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. field — farmland
  14. rest — a break
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. craft — a skill
  17. staff — a stick
  18. sharp — clever
  19. field — for sport
  20. ball — a round shape
  21. field — a subject
  22. ball — a dance
  23. rest — what's left
  24. drill — army training

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