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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. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  2. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  3. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. Don't do anything ________________.
  10. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  11. David sat on the ________________.
  12. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  13. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  24. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in biology
  2. bore — gave birth
  3. rash — a series
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. bat — the animal
  6. last — finally
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. last — final
  9. rash — hasty
  10. fine — all right
  11. swing — to play on
  12. swing — music
  13. bore — to drill
  14. clip — for paper
  15. fine — high quality
  16. last — to go on
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. cell — a phone
  19. bore — to tire
  20. clip — a video
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. clip — to cut
  23. swing — in golf
  24. fine — a penalty

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