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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. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  2. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  3. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  6. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  7. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  8. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  9. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  10. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  13. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  16. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  20. I've got to change the light ________________.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. The light ________________ burned out.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — gave birth
  2. scale — for weighing
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. fork — to eat with
  6. bore — to drill
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. scale — in music
  9. bulb — of a plant
  10. scale — size or range
  11. clip — to cut
  12. racket — a loud noise
  13. fork — in a road
  14. clip — a video
  15. bore — to tire
  16. fork — a garden tool
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. ground — a position
  19. ground — crushed
  20. bulb — for light
  21. clip — for paper
  22. ground — the earth
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. bulb — for light

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