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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. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  3. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  4. It's one o'clock ________________.
  5. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  8. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  11. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  12. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  13. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  14. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  20. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  24. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. pitch — a sports field
  3. mark — to pay attention
  4. sharp — exactly
  5. bore — to tire
  6. cold — not warm
  7. ruler — for measuring
  8. ruler — for measuring
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. pitch — completely
  11. bore — to drill
  12. pitch — a sales talk
  13. mark — a trace
  14. sharp — clever
  15. clip — to cut
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. clip — a video
  18. clip — for paper
  19. ruler — a monarch
  20. mark — a grade
  21. cold — an illness
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. bore — gave birth

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