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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. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  4. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  5. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  6. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  12. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  13. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  14. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. Did you ________________ the meat?
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  19. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. Spring is a pleasant ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. field — for sport
  3. pitch — a sales talk
  4. pound — a weight
  5. bore — to drill
  6. pitch — completely
  7. clip — to cut
  8. clip — for paper
  9. bore — to tire
  10. clip — a video
  11. bore — gave birth
  12. pitch — a sports field
  13. pound — to hit hard
  14. pound — for dogs
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. season — to add flavour
  17. spring — the season
  18. season — in sport
  19. scale — size or range
  20. field — a subject
  21. scale — in music
  22. field — farmland
  23. spring — a coil
  24. season — of the year

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