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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. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  2. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  3. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  4. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  8. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  9. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  10. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  15. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. What do you think of the new ________________?
  23. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  24. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.

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. pitch — a sales talk
  4. pitch — completely
  5. clip — a video
  6. field — farmland
  7. pitch — a sports field
  8. bore — gave birth
  9. root — the cause
  10. cabinet — a cupboard
  11. prune — to trim
  12. field — a subject
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. root — of a plant
  16. clip — to cut
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. clip — for paper
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. field — for sport
  21. bat — the animal
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. root — of a word
  24. prune — to trim

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