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

Word bank: track · clip · ground · mark · bore · race · ball · bat

  1. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  2. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  8. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  9. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  10. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. There's no middle ________________.
  13. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  14. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. The King held a masked ________________.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  23. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  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. bore — to tire
  2. race — a contest
  3. bat — the animal
  4. ground — the earth
  5. race — the arms race
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. track — to keep track
  8. track — a path
  9. bore — to drill
  10. track — a song
  11. clip — to cut
  12. ground — a position
  13. mark — a trace
  14. ball — a great time
  15. ground — crushed
  16. clip — for paper
  17. ball — a dance
  18. race — humankind
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. mark — to pay attention
  21. clip — a video
  22. mark — a grade
  23. ball — a round shape
  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