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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. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  2. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  3. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  7. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  8. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  9. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  10. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  11. You don't need to ________________ round.
  12. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. We're almost out of ________________.
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. I'll be taking the ________________.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  21. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. bore — to tire
  3. racket — a loud noise
  4. clip — a video
  5. court — of law
  6. wake — to stop sleeping
  7. tube — in a tire
  8. wake — before a funeral
  9. pop — music
  10. bore — gave birth
  11. pop — to visit
  12. tube — a container
  13. court — for sport
  14. clip — to cut
  15. kid — child
  16. pop — soda
  17. court — of a king
  18. tube — the underground
  19. kid — to tease
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. wake — a trail
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. clip — for paper
  24. bore — to drill

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