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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. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  2. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  3. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  4. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  5. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  8. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  9. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  10. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  11. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  19. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  20. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  21. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  22. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  23. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  24. She had a strange look on her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. can — a tin
  2. deal — an agreement
  3. bore — to tire
  4. can — to be able to
  5. bore — to drill
  6. field — a subject
  7. can — a tin
  8. bore — gave birth
  9. deal — to handle
  10. face — to point toward
  11. chip — to eat
  12. clip — to cut
  13. clip — a video
  14. field — for sport
  15. clip — for paper
  16. club — for dancing
  17. field — farmland
  18. club — a group
  19. face — to confront
  20. chip — in a computer
  21. chip — for betting
  22. deal — a big deal
  23. club — for golf
  24. face — part of the head

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