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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. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. She's very handy with a ________________.
  3. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. He works in a ________________ mill.
  8. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  9. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. He is an ace ________________.
  14. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  20. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  21. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  24. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. saw — the tool
  3. bore — gave birth
  4. degree — from a university
  5. calf — of the leg
  6. game — a match
  7. saw — the tool
  8. bore — to drill
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. clip — to cut
  11. root — the cause
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. pitcher — in baseball
  14. root — of a plant
  15. clip — a video
  16. degree — temperature
  17. game — wild animals
  18. clip — for paper
  19. root — of a word
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. degree — an amount
  23. bore — to tire
  24. saw — past of 'see'

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