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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. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  7. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. Did you ________________ the meat?
  24. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — gave birth
  2. clip — for paper
  3. file — a document
  4. sharp — clever
  5. race — a contest
  6. mouse — the animal
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. season — of the year
  10. hand — in cards
  11. mouse — for a computer
  12. file — a tool
  13. clip — a video
  14. bore — to drill
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. hand — help
  17. bore — to tire
  18. clip — to cut
  19. season — in sport
  20. file — a line of people
  21. race — the arms race
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. season — to add flavour
  24. race — humankind

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