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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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  5. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  9. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  15. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  16. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. My father caught me by the ________________.
  20. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  24. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. bore — to drill
  3. swing — to play on
  4. mate — a friend
  5. mate — to breed
  6. mate — a partner
  7. clip — a video
  8. swing — music
  9. bore — gave birth
  10. net — for catching
  11. net — after costs
  12. net — in sport
  13. field — a subject
  14. board — a flat piece
  15. board — a committee
  16. bore — to tire
  17. field — for sport
  18. field — farmland
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. clip — to cut
  22. swing — in golf
  23. board — to get on
  24. arm — a part of something

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