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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. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  2. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  5. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  23. There's no middle ________________.
  24. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.

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. bat — for baseball
  4. current — happening now
  5. bass — low music
  6. ground — crushed
  7. bass — the instrument
  8. bat — the animal
  9. court — for sport
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. current — of water
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. capital — money
  14. court — of a king
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. capital — a city
  19. bass — the fish
  20. court — of law
  21. ground — the earth
  22. current — electric
  23. ground — a position
  24. bore — to drill

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