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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 strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  5. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  6. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  13. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  14. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  15. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  16. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  17. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  20. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  23. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  24. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. bat — the animal
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. bore — gave birth
  5. cue — for pool
  6. bore — to tire
  7. clip — for paper
  8. clip — a video
  9. bore — to drill
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. racket — a loud noise
  13. track — a song
  14. cue — a hint
  15. cue — a signal
  16. track — to keep track
  17. leaves — lets stay
  18. clip — to cut
  19. leaves — of a tree
  20. leaves — to go away
  21. wind — moving air
  22. track — a path
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. racket — for tennis

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