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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'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  2. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  3. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  6. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  7. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  16. The King held a masked ________________.
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. The ________________ went through the wall.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  22. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — steady
  2. bore — gave birth
  3. ball — a great time
  4. chest — of your body
  5. ball — a round shape
  6. bore — to tire
  7. bore — to drill
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. clip — to cut
  11. firm — decided
  12. chest — a box
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. net — in sport
  15. firm — a company
  16. ball — a dance
  17. net — for catching
  18. clip — for paper
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. clip — a video
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. nail — on a finger
  23. net — after costs
  24. chest — of your body

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