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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. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  2. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. Have you met the new head ________________?
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  10. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  11. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  12. You don't need to ________________ round.
  13. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  14. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. We're almost out of ________________.
  23. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  24. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the fish
  2. bore — gave birth
  3. land — to come down
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. pitch — completely
  8. shower — to wash
  9. bore — to drill
  10. bore — to tire
  11. bass — the instrument
  12. pop — to visit
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. bass — low music
  15. land — a country
  16. pitch — a sports field
  17. shower — rain
  18. pop — music
  19. land — ground
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. bat — the animal
  22. pop — soda
  23. pitch — a sales talk
  24. coach — pulled by horses

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