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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. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  4. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  5. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  8. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  9. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  10. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  11. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  12. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  16. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  17. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  18. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  19. What do you think of the new ________________?
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  23. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to tire
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. bass — low music
  4. cabinet — a cupboard
  5. stem — a stem cell
  6. hand — in cards
  7. bore — gave birth
  8. stem — of a plant
  9. bass — the fish
  10. face — to confront
  11. face — to point toward
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. hand — help
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. bore — to drill
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. face — part of the head
  18. bass — the instrument
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. clip — for paper
  21. clip — to cut
  22. stem — to come from
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. clip — a video

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