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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 ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  8. Where did you ________________ them?
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  19. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  23. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. bank — of a river
  3. bat — the animal
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. mug — a cup
  6. clip — a video
  7. mug — a face
  8. mug — to rob
  9. game — wild animals
  10. bore — to drill
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. clip — for paper
  13. sharp — with an edge
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. bank — for money
  16. game — a match
  17. chair — a leader
  18. bore — to tire
  19. bore — gave birth
  20. clip — to cut
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. bank — for money
  23. sharp — clever
  24. bat — in an idiom

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