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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 haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  2. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  4. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  5. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  6. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  7. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  8. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  9. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  12. He works in a ________________ mill.
  13. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. She's very handy with a ________________.
  17. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  18. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  22. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. bass — low music
  3. present — there
  4. racket — a loud noise
  5. face — part of the head
  6. face — to point toward
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. bore — to tire
  9. present — a gift
  10. row — to paddle
  11. saw — past of 'see'
  12. saw — the tool
  13. bore — gave birth
  14. row — a line
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. saw — the tool
  17. present — the time now
  18. face — to confront
  19. degree — an amount
  20. degree — temperature
  21. bass — the fish
  22. bass — the instrument
  23. degree — from a university
  24. bore — to drill

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