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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. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. Don't do anything ________________.
  9. The King held a masked ________________.
  10. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  11. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  12. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  13. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. We're almost out of ________________.
  19. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  20. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  21. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  22. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  23. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  24. You don't need to ________________ round.

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

Answer key

  1. present — there
  2. clip — a video
  3. clip — for paper
  4. pop — music
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. degree — temperature
  7. degree — an amount
  8. rash — hasty
  9. ball — a dance
  10. bore — gave birth
  11. rash — on the skin
  12. ball — a great time
  13. bore — to drill
  14. clip — to cut
  15. degree — from a university
  16. rash — a series
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. pop — soda
  19. bore — to tire
  20. ball — a round shape
  21. present — the time now
  22. chair — a leader
  23. present — a gift
  24. pop — to visit

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