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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 116 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. This piece is in a major ________________.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  7. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  12. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  13. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  18. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  19. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  20. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  21. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. key — in music
  2. clip — for paper
  3. clip — to cut
  4. present — there
  5. clip — a video
  6. bore — to drill
  7. row — to paddle
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. pitch — a sports field
  10. row — a line
  11. key — for a lock
  12. drill — army training
  13. pitch — completely
  14. degree — an amount
  15. drill — a practice
  16. degree — from a university
  17. pitch — a sales talk
  18. key — the most important part
  19. bore — gave birth
  20. present — the time now
  21. present — a gift
  22. drill — the tool
  23. bore — to tire
  24. degree — temperature

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