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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. Have you settled on a ________________?
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  4. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  19. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  20. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  21. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  24. The players ran onto the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. bore — gave birth
  4. bore — to drill
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. clip — to cut
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. squash — to crush
  11. wound — an injury
  12. pitch — completely
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. clip — a video
  15. clip — for paper
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. pitch — a sales talk
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. squash — the sport
  21. date — the fruit
  22. wound — an injury
  23. bore — to tire
  24. pitch — a sports field

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