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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 116 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. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  3. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  10. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  11. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  12. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  15. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  16. The King held a masked ________________.
  17. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  18. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a great time
  2. pitch — a sales talk
  3. bore — to drill
  4. march — music
  5. march — the month
  6. row — to paddle
  7. race — the arms race
  8. row — a line
  9. rock — music
  10. rock — a stone
  11. rock — to move gently
  12. pitch — a sports field
  13. march — the month
  14. bore — to tire
  15. ball — a round shape
  16. ball — a dance
  17. pitch — completely
  18. bore — gave birth
  19. race — humankind
  20. clip — to cut
  21. clip — a video
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. race — a contest
  24. clip — for paper

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