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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. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. The light ________________ burned out.
  4. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  8. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  9. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  10. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  11. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  17. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  20. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. I've got to change the light ________________.
  23. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  24. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — gave birth
  2. net — after costs
  3. bulb — for light
  4. toast — bread
  5. clip — to cut
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. bore — to tire
  8. toast — the most admired
  9. toast — a drink to someone
  10. bank — for money
  11. track — to keep track
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. net — for catching
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. clip — for paper
  16. track — a path
  17. track — a song
  18. net — in sport
  19. bank — of a river
  20. bank — for money
  21. clip — a video
  22. bulb — for light
  23. bore — to drill
  24. bulb — of a plant

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