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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. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  4. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  9. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  10. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  11. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  16. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  17. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  18. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  21. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. bear — to put up with
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. bear — the animal
  4. bear — the animal
  5. clip — for paper
  6. bore — gave birth
  7. clip — to cut
  8. track — a path
  9. bore — to drill
  10. craft — boats
  11. craft — a skill
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. pound — a weight
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. bore — to tire
  16. track — to keep track
  17. craft — a handicraft
  18. track — a song
  19. game — wild animals
  20. pound — for dogs
  21. pound — to hit hard
  22. game — a match
  23. mine — for digging
  24. clip — a video

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