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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 120 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. We're almost out of ________________.
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  6. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  7. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  18. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. Have you met the new head ________________?
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. You don't need to ________________ round.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — soda
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. coach — pulled by horses
  6. bore — to tire
  7. bore — gave birth
  8. drill — the tool
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. clip — for paper
  11. drill — army training
  12. wax — to grow
  13. wax — in the ear
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. bore — to drill
  16. clip — a video
  17. pop — music
  18. drill — a practice
  19. bat — the animal
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. band — a music group
  22. pop — to visit
  23. band — a ring
  24. clip — to cut

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