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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. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  3. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  4. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  5. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  6. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  7. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  8. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  9. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  10. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  11. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  14. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  15. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  18. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  19. The King held a masked ________________.
  20. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  21. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  22. The ________________ went through the wall.
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  24. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a great time
  2. nail — on a finger
  3. bore — to tire
  4. trunk — of a tree
  5. dip — a sauce
  6. bore — to drill
  7. dip — to dunk
  8. trunk — of an elephant
  9. scale — in music
  10. bore — gave birth
  11. trunk — of a car
  12. snap — to click
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. ball — a round shape
  15. scale — size or range
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. squash — the vegetable
  18. squash — the sport
  19. ball — a dance
  20. squash — to crush
  21. dip — to sink
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. scale — for weighing
  24. snap — to snap out of it

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