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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. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  6. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  7. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  14. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  15. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  16. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  17. The ________________ took off on time.
  18. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — gave birth
  2. game — wild animals
  3. pass — a permit
  4. squash — the sport
  5. pass — to spend time
  6. bore — to drill
  7. squash — to crush
  8. game — a match
  9. drill — a practice
  10. drill — the tool
  11. fall — to drop
  12. clip — a video
  13. plane — a tool
  14. bore — to tire
  15. plane — in geometry
  16. fall — to drop
  17. plane — an aircraft
  18. squash — the vegetable
  19. drill — army training
  20. clip — for paper
  21. clip — to cut
  22. pass — to succeed
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. fall — the season

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