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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. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  4. It's one o'clock ________________.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  13. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  14. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  22. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  23. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  24. He had ________________ pain while walking.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to drill
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. face — to point toward
  4. sharp — exactly
  5. court — of law
  6. spring — a coil
  7. bass — the fish
  8. spring — of water
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. game — a match
  11. sharp — clever
  12. bass — the instrument
  13. bass — low music
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. court — for sport
  16. bore — to tire
  17. court — of a king
  18. face — to confront
  19. spring — the season
  20. game — wild animals
  21. face — part of the head
  22. bore — gave birth
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. calf — of the leg

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