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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. The King held a masked ________________.
  3. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  6. Did you ________________ the meat?
  7. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  8. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  9. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  10. When was this ________________ built?
  11. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  12. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  13. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  16. We're on a ________________ here.
  17. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  18. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  19. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  20. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  23. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  24. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to tire
  2. ball — a dance
  3. roll — a cake
  4. clip — for paper
  5. roll — a list
  6. season — to add flavour
  7. season — of the year
  8. ball — a round shape
  9. track — a song
  10. temple — a place of worship
  11. temple — side of the head
  12. season — in sport
  13. bowl — a football final
  14. clip — to cut
  15. bowl — a dish
  16. roll — on a roll
  17. track — to keep track
  18. bore — gave birth
  19. bore — to drill
  20. bowl — to roll
  21. clip — a video
  22. temple — a place of worship
  23. ball — a great time
  24. track — a path

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