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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. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  2. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  8. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  15. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  20. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. This piece is in a major ________________.
  23. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to drill
  2. bore — to tire
  3. kid — child
  4. clip — for paper
  5. bore — gave birth
  6. field — a subject
  7. key — the most important part
  8. pass — to spend time
  9. clip — a video
  10. clip — to cut
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. hand — help
  13. hand — in cards
  14. toast — the most admired
  15. toast — bread
  16. kid — to tease
  17. key — for a lock
  18. field — farmland
  19. toast — a drink to someone
  20. pass — a permit
  21. field — for sport
  22. key — in music
  23. pass — to succeed
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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