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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. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  3. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. I'll be taking the ________________.
  9. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  10. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  13. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  16. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  17. Have you found your soul ________________?
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  22. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. bore — to tire
  3. tube — a container
  4. clip — to cut
  5. net — for catching
  6. deal — a big deal
  7. court — of a king
  8. tube — the underground
  9. tube — in a tire
  10. safe — out of danger
  11. court — for sport
  12. deal — to handle
  13. deal — an agreement
  14. net — in sport
  15. safe — out of danger
  16. safe — a strongbox
  17. mate — a partner
  18. court — of law
  19. mate — to breed
  20. net — after costs
  21. bore — gave birth
  22. bore — to drill
  23. clip — a video
  24. mate — a friend

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