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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 116 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. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  2. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  3. The King held a masked ________________.
  4. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  9. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  10. He is an ace ________________.
  11. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  12. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  18. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  19. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  24. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to tire
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. ball — a dance
  4. bear — the animal
  5. degree — from a university
  6. file — a document
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. pitch — a sports field
  9. bear — the animal
  10. pitcher — in baseball
  11. ball — a round shape
  12. pitch — completely
  13. file — a tool
  14. bear — to put up with
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. degree — an amount
  17. bore — gave birth
  18. pitch — a sales talk
  19. ball — a great time
  20. bat — the animal
  21. file — a line of people
  22. degree — temperature
  23. bore — to drill
  24. pitcher — a jug

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