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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: bore · game · clip · mug · scale · cabinet · field · snap

  1. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  2. What do you think of the new ________________?
  3. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  4. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  8. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  9. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  10. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  14. Where did you ________________ them?
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  17. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  18. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — gave birth
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. mug — a face
  4. mug — a cup
  5. snap — to click
  6. clip — a video
  7. scale — for weighing
  8. bore — to tire
  9. scale — in music
  10. scale — size or range
  11. clip — for paper
  12. field — farmland
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. mug — to rob
  15. field — a subject
  16. cabinet — a cupboard
  17. bore — to drill
  18. snap — to speak sharply
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. clip — to cut
  21. game — a match
  22. field — for sport
  23. game — wild animals
  24. game — a kind of play

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