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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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  3. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  6. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  9. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. This piece is in a major ________________.
  13. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  14. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  17. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  20. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  21. The ________________ went through the wall.
  22. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  23. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. pound — to hit hard
  3. pound — a weight
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. pound — for dogs
  6. bore — to tire
  7. chair — a leader
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. board — a committee
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. clip — a video
  12. key — in music
  13. nail — on a finger
  14. board — a flat piece
  15. clip — to cut
  16. bore — to drill
  17. bore — gave birth
  18. bat — the animal
  19. key — the most important part
  20. key — for a lock
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. chair — a professorship
  23. board — to get on
  24. bat — in an idiom

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