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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 little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  2. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  11. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  12. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  13. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  16. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  21. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  22. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  23. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. bowl — to roll
  3. clip — to cut
  4. bore — gave birth
  5. spring — a coil
  6. bowl — a football final
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. spring — of water
  9. clip — for paper
  10. can — a tin
  11. present — a gift
  12. bear — the animal
  13. present — the time now
  14. clip — a video
  15. can — to be able to
  16. present — there
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. bowl — a dish
  19. bat — the animal
  20. bear — to put up with
  21. bore — to drill
  22. can — a tin
  23. bore — to tire
  24. spring — the season

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