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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. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  4. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  8. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  14. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  17. Did you ________________ the meat?
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  20. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  21. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  22. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to drill
  2. bat — the animal
  3. season — in sport
  4. foot — the bottom
  5. chest — of your body
  6. clip — for paper
  7. track — to keep track
  8. track — a song
  9. clip — to cut
  10. foot — part of the body
  11. clip — a video
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. bore — gave birth
  14. track — a path
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. season — of the year
  17. season — to add flavour
  18. chest — a box
  19. bore — to tire
  20. pit — a hole
  21. pit — a fruit stone
  22. pit — in a race
  23. chest — of your body
  24. foot — a measure

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