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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. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  2. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  10. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  11. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  12. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  17. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  21. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to tire
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. game — a match
  4. court — of law
  5. tear — from crying
  6. board — a committee
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. tear — to rip
  9. rock — to move gently
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. rock — music
  12. rock — a stone
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. court — of a king
  15. tear — from crying
  16. board — a flat piece
  17. fan — to cool the air
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. game — wild animals
  20. bore — to drill
  21. board — to get on
  22. bat — the animal
  23. court — for sport
  24. bore — gave birth

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