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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. When will it ________________ you to start?
  2. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  10. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  15. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  18. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  22. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. suit — to fit
  2. bass — low music
  3. clip — to cut
  4. net — for catching
  5. pound — a weight
  6. net — after costs
  7. bore — gave birth
  8. net — in sport
  9. suit — in cards
  10. pound — for dogs
  11. shower — rain
  12. clip — a video
  13. shower — to wash
  14. bass — the instrument
  15. bore — to tire
  16. clip — for paper
  17. pound — to hit hard
  18. bore — to drill
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. suit — clothes
  22. bass — the fish
  23. game — wild animals
  24. game — a match

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