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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. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  13. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  14. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  15. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  20. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — gave birth
  2. bore — to tire
  3. kick — a thrill
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. field — farmland
  6. bass — low music
  7. capital — money
  8. bore — to drill
  9. capital — a city
  10. track — a path
  11. field — a subject
  12. bass — the fish
  13. track — a song
  14. kick — in football
  15. track — to keep track
  16. court — of a king
  17. court — of law
  18. field — for sport
  19. snap — to click
  20. bass — the instrument
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. kick — with a leg
  23. court — for sport
  24. snap — to speak sharply

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