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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.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: file · object · bore · sharp · wound · bat · march · fine

  1. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  2. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  3. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  6. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. It's one o'clock ________________.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  20. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — all right
  2. fine — a penalty
  3. bore — to drill
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. object — to protest
  6. object — a thing
  7. wound — an injury
  8. sharp — clever
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. fine — high quality
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. march — the month
  13. wound — an injury
  14. sharp — exactly
  15. file — a tool
  16. march — music
  17. bore — gave birth
  18. bat — the animal
  19. sharp — with an edge
  20. object — an aim
  21. file — a line of people
  22. bore — to tire
  23. file — a document
  24. march — the month

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