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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. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  2. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  5. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  6. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  7. That must've been a ________________.
  8. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  9. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  10. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  11. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  12. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  13. This piece is in a major ________________.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  16. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  17. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  18. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  19. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  20. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  21. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  22. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  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. rush — to hurry
  2. leaves — lets stay
  3. clip — to cut
  4. bore — to drill
  5. root — of a word
  6. bass — low music
  7. rush — a thrill
  8. bass — the fish
  9. rush — hurry
  10. key — the most important part
  11. leaves — of a tree
  12. root — of a plant
  13. key — in music
  14. clip — for paper
  15. leaves — to go away
  16. bass — the instrument
  17. key — for a lock
  18. can — to be able to
  19. root — the cause
  20. can — a tin
  21. bore — to tire
  22. can — a tin
  23. clip — a video
  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