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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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  8. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  9. We're almost out of ________________.
  10. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  11. This piece is in a major ________________.
  12. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  13. You don't need to ________________ round.
  14. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  15. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. My father caught me by the ________________.
  18. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  19. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  22. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  23. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  24. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. clip — a video
  4. clip — to cut
  5. bowl — to roll
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. bowl — a dish
  8. bowl — a football final
  9. pop — soda
  10. bore — to tire
  11. key — in music
  12. bore — to drill
  13. pop — to visit
  14. rock — a stone
  15. rock — music
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. key — the most important part
  19. pop — music
  20. clip — for paper
  21. bore — gave birth
  22. key — for a lock
  23. rock — to move gently
  24. arm — a part of something

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