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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 120 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. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  4. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  5. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  6. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. We're almost out of ________________.
  12. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  13. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. You don't need to ________________ round.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  21. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  24. ________________ games are popular in Germany.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — gave birth
  2. file — a tool
  3. rock — to move gently
  4. bore — to tire
  5. bore — to drill
  6. board — a committee
  7. scale — in music
  8. court — of law
  9. rock — music
  10. court — of a king
  11. pop — soda
  12. rock — a stone
  13. scale — for weighing
  14. file — a line of people
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. mine — for digging
  18. pop — to visit
  19. court — for sport
  20. board — to get on
  21. pop — music
  22. file — a document
  23. scale — size or range
  24. board — a flat piece

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