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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. The ________________ market has crashed.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  5. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  6. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  7. I'll be taking the ________________.
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  12. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  20. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  23. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  24. The players ran onto the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to tire
  2. stock — shares
  3. hand — help
  4. present — a gift
  5. stock — goods
  6. pitch — completely
  7. tube — the underground
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. present — there
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. bore — to drill
  12. tube — in a tire
  13. march — the month
  14. bore — gave birth
  15. hand — in cards
  16. march — the month
  17. pitch — a sales talk
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. tube — a container
  20. stock — a soup base
  21. march — music
  22. present — the time now
  23. snap — to click
  24. pitch — a sports field

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