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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. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  13. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  14. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  22. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  23. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. ruler — for measuring
  2. kid — to tease
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. pound — for dogs
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. pit — a hole
  7. kid — child
  8. clip — a video
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. ground — the earth
  11. ground — a position
  12. pound — a weight
  13. pit — a fruit stone
  14. ruler — for measuring
  15. ground — crushed
  16. clip — for paper
  17. bat — the animal
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. band — a ring
  20. band — a music group
  21. pound — to hit hard
  22. ruler — a monarch
  23. pit — in a race
  24. clip — to cut

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