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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. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  5. We're almost out of ________________.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. My father caught me by the ________________.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  16. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  17. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  18. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  19. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  20. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  21. You don't need to ________________ round.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to drill
  2. clip — to cut
  3. degree — an amount
  4. bore — to tire
  5. pop — soda
  6. clip — for paper
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. mine — for digging
  9. degree — temperature
  10. pound — to hit hard
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. bore — gave birth
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. pop — music
  16. chair — a leader
  17. arm — a part of something
  18. pound — a weight
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. pound — for dogs
  21. pop — to visit
  22. clip — a video
  23. chair — to sit on
  24. degree — from a university

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