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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. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  2. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  3. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  6. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  9. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  13. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  16. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  20. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  23. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the fish
  2. mouse — for a computer
  3. bore — to tire
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. pit — a fruit stone
  7. degree — from a university
  8. pit — a hole
  9. bore — gave birth
  10. degree — temperature
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. bass — the instrument
  13. present — a gift
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. bass — low music
  16. present — there
  17. degree — an amount
  18. row — a line
  19. pit — in a race
  20. present — the time now
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. mouse — the animal
  23. bore — to drill
  24. row — to paddle

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