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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. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  6. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. It's one o'clock ________________.
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  12. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  13. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  22. He is an ace ________________.
  23. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to tire
  2. march — music
  3. bore — gave birth
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. bore — to drill
  7. march — the month
  8. last — final
  9. sharp — exactly
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. club — for golf
  12. safe — out of danger
  13. safe — out of danger
  14. cell — in biology
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. club — a group
  17. last — to go on
  18. club — for dancing
  19. cell — a phone
  20. march — the month
  21. sharp — clever
  22. pitcher — in baseball
  23. safe — a strongbox
  24. last — finally

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