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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. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. The ________________ went through the wall.
  5. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  6. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  7. I can't ________________ this cold.
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  10. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  13. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  14. It's one o'clock ________________.
  15. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  16. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  21. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. bore — to drill
  3. clip — to cut
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. bore — to tire
  6. bass — low music
  7. stand — to bear
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. stand — on your feet
  10. bass — the instrument
  11. clip — for paper
  12. stand — for spectators
  13. nail — on a finger
  14. sharp — exactly
  15. sharp — clever
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. ground — a position
  18. ground — the earth
  19. degree — temperature
  20. bore — gave birth
  21. bass — the fish
  22. degree — an amount
  23. degree — from a university
  24. clip — a video

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