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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. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  5. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  6. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  7. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  8. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  9. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. The ________________ took off on time.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  16. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  22. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  23. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  24. My mare is ________________ in color.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to tire
  2. bore — gave birth
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. cap — a hat
  5. cap — a lid
  6. bay — a part of the sea
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. plane — in geometry
  9. pound — to hit hard
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. plane — an aircraft
  12. clip — to cut
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. clip — for paper
  15. plane — a tool
  16. bore — to drill
  17. game — a match
  18. bay — to keep at bay
  19. game — wild animals
  20. clip — a video
  21. cap — of ice
  22. pound — a weight
  23. pound — for dogs
  24. bay — a horse colour

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