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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 124 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. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  2. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  3. We're almost out of ________________.
  4. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  5. I'll be taking the ________________.
  6. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  7. You don't need to ________________ round.
  8. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  13. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  14. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  15. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  16. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  17. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. current — happening now
  2. lie — an untruth
  3. pop — soda
  4. current — of water
  5. tube — the underground
  6. tube — a container
  7. pop — to visit
  8. bore — to drill
  9. hand — in cards
  10. field — a subject
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. bore — gave birth
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. tube — in a tire
  15. bore — to tire
  16. lie — to recline
  17. current — electric
  18. field — for sport
  19. hand — help
  20. pop — music
  21. field — farmland
  22. bat — the animal
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. hand — part of the body

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