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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. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  2. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  3. Have you found your soul ________________?
  4. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  5. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  6. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  7. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  8. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  9. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  17. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  21. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  22. The ________________ went through the wall.
  23. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a football final
  2. bore — gave birth
  3. mate — a partner
  4. pass — a permit
  5. pass — to spend time
  6. mate — a friend
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. bore — to tire
  9. bowl — a dish
  10. file — a tool
  11. scale — in music
  12. kid — to tease
  13. file — a line of people
  14. bowl — to roll
  15. file — a document
  16. pass — to succeed
  17. bore — to drill
  18. kid — child
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. nail — on a finger
  21. scale — size or range
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. mate — to breed
  24. scale — for weighing

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