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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. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  2. He works in a ________________ mill.
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. She's very handy with a ________________.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  13. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  14. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  19. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  20. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  21. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  22. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. He hit the ball with his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. saw — the tool
  3. swing — to play on
  4. clip — to cut
  5. shower — rain
  6. saw — past of 'see'
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. saw — the tool
  9. clip — for paper
  10. bore — to tire
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. racket — a loud noise
  13. root — the cause
  14. bore — to drill
  15. shower — to wash
  16. swing — in golf
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. root — of a plant
  19. bore — gave birth
  20. swing — music
  21. root — of a word
  22. snap — to click
  23. clip — a video
  24. racket — for tennis

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