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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. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  3. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  4. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  10. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  11. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  12. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  13. I'll be taking the ________________.
  14. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  17. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  20. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  21. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. scale — for weighing
  3. deal — an agreement
  4. scale — in music
  5. game — a match
  6. clip — a video
  7. band — a music group
  8. clip — for paper
  9. racket — a loud noise
  10. tube — a container
  11. tube — in a tire
  12. scale — size or range
  13. tube — the underground
  14. bore — to tire
  15. clip — to cut
  16. deal — to handle
  17. deal — a big deal
  18. band — a ring
  19. bore — gave birth
  20. bore — to drill
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. band — a rubber band

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