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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 120 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. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  2. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  3. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  4. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  5. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. We're almost out of ________________.
  12. You don't need to ________________ round.
  13. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  18. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — gave birth
  2. mouse — the animal
  3. bore — to drill
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. cap — a lid
  6. court — of a king
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. cap — a hat
  9. court — for sport
  10. clip — for paper
  11. pop — soda
  12. pop — to visit
  13. bore — to tire
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. mouse — for a computer
  16. clip — a video
  17. cap — of ice
  18. stem — to come from
  19. mine — for digging
  20. stem — of a plant
  21. clip — to cut
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. pop — music
  24. court — of law

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