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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. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  2. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  4. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  5. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  6. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  7. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  10. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  11. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  14. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  15. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  23. The ________________ took off on time.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — gave birth
  2. cell — in biology
  3. bore — to drill
  4. pitch — a sports field
  5. track — to keep track
  6. bass — low music
  7. pitch — completely
  8. cell — a phone
  9. track — a path
  10. track — a song
  11. pitch — a sales talk
  12. clip — for paper
  13. bore — to tire
  14. bass — the instrument
  15. plane — in geometry
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. clip — to cut
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. clip — a video
  20. plane — a tool
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. bass — the fish
  23. plane — an aircraft
  24. bat — the animal

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