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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. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  2. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  3. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  6. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  9. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  10. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  11. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  16. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  17. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  18. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  19. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  20. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  21. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  22. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to snap out of it
  2. object — an aim
  3. object — a thing
  4. game — a match
  5. bore — to drill
  6. object — to protest
  7. game — wild animals
  8. current — electric
  9. bore — to tire
  10. current — of water
  11. perch — the fish
  12. field — a subject
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. field — farmland
  15. bass — the fish
  16. bass — the instrument
  17. snap — to click
  18. bass — low music
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. bore — gave birth
  22. current — happening now
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  24. field — for sport

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