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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. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  2. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  3. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  6. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  9. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  13. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  17. My father caught me by the ________________.
  18. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  19. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  22. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  23. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  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. bore — gave birth
  2. staff — employees
  3. pitch — completely
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. pitch — a sports field
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. pound — for dogs
  9. staff — employees
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. wax — to grow
  12. arm — a part of something
  13. bore — to drill
  14. capital — a city
  15. capital — money
  16. pitch — a sales talk
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. pound — a weight
  19. bore — to tire
  20. row — a line
  21. wax — in the ear
  22. staff — a stick
  23. pound — to hit hard
  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