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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. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  2. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  3. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  11. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  14. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  15. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  21. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — gave birth
  2. bass — the instrument
  3. bore — to tire
  4. game — wild animals
  5. game — a match
  6. bass — the fish
  7. spring — the season
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. clip — to cut
  10. can — to be able to
  11. ruler — a monarch
  12. clip — a video
  13. can — a tin
  14. bass — low music
  15. ruler — for measuring
  16. cell — a phone
  17. cell — in biology
  18. can — a tin
  19. spring — a coil
  20. bore — to drill
  21. ruler — for measuring
  22. clip — for paper
  23. spring — of water
  24. cell — in a prison

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