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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. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  7. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. The ________________ went through the wall.
  11. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  12. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  13. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  14. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  17. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  18. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  21. When was this ________________ built?
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. shower — to wash
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. bore — to drill
  5. clip — for paper
  6. leaves — lets stay
  7. bass — the fish
  8. shower — rain
  9. clip — a video
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. bass — low music
  12. bore — to tire
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. bore — gave birth
  15. row — a line
  16. leaves — to go away
  17. bass — the instrument
  18. temple — side of the head
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. leaves — of a tree
  21. temple — a place of worship
  22. clip — to cut
  23. nail — on a finger
  24. row — to paddle

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