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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. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  2. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  3. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  8. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  9. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  10. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  16. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  17. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  23. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a song
  2. bore — gave birth
  3. bowl — a football final
  4. chest — a box
  5. bowl — a dish
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. bore — to drill
  8. track — to keep track
  9. can — a tin
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. clip — a video
  12. bore — to tire
  13. bat — the animal
  14. clip — to cut
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. fan — to cool the air
  17. track — a path
  18. clip — for paper
  19. bowl — to roll
  20. chest — of your body
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. can — to be able to
  23. can — a tin
  24. chest — of your body

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