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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. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  3. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  4. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  5. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  8. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  9. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. This piece is in a major ________________.
  12. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  13. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  14. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  15. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  16. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  19. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to tire
  2. bore — gave birth
  3. fine — a penalty
  4. jam — to spread on bread
  5. pound — to hit hard
  6. clip — to cut
  7. bowl — a dish
  8. pound — a weight
  9. key — for a lock
  10. clip — a video
  11. key — in music
  12. fine — high quality
  13. key — the most important part
  14. pound — for dogs
  15. jam — in traffic
  16. fine — all right
  17. clip — for paper
  18. bore — to drill
  19. bowl — a football final
  20. cold — an illness
  21. bowl — to roll
  22. cold — not warm
  23. jam — a tight spot
  24. cold — the Cold War

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