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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. How do you ________________ your surname?
  2. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  6. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  7. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  8. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. He works in a ________________ mill.
  15. She's very handy with a ________________.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  19. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  20. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. scale — in music
  3. bat — the animal
  4. march — the month
  5. saw — past of 'see'
  6. pitch — completely
  7. bore — to tire
  8. bore — gave birth
  9. spell — magic
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. clip — for paper
  12. scale — for weighing
  13. spell — a short time
  14. saw — the tool
  15. saw — the tool
  16. march — music
  17. clip — to cut
  18. scale — size or range
  19. pitch — a sports field
  20. pitch — a sales talk
  21. clip — a video
  22. bore — to drill
  23. march — the month
  24. bat — for baseball

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