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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. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  13. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  18. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  19. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  20. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to drill
  2. clip — for paper
  3. bass — the instrument
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. court — of a king
  6. field — farmland
  7. clip — to cut
  8. bore — to tire
  9. field — a subject
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. bat — the animal
  12. track — a song
  13. bass — the fish
  14. clip — a video
  15. track — to keep track
  16. court — of law
  17. bass — low music
  18. wax — to grow
  19. track — a path
  20. wax — in the ear
  21. field — for sport
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. bore — gave birth
  24. court — for sport

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