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

  1. It's one o'clock ________________.
  2. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  5. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  6. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  7. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  8. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  16. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  20. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  21. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  22. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  23. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  24. The train ________________ at six o'clock.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — exactly
  2. fine — high quality
  3. clip — to cut
  4. bore — gave birth
  5. sharp — with an edge
  6. present — a gift
  7. foot — a measure
  8. fine — a penalty
  9. chest — of your body
  10. bore — to tire
  11. clip — for paper
  12. present — there
  13. chest — of your body
  14. chest — a box
  15. foot — the bottom
  16. present — the time now
  17. sharp — clever
  18. clip — a video
  19. fine — all right
  20. leaves — of a tree
  21. bore — to drill
  22. leaves — lets stay
  23. foot — part of the body
  24. leaves — to go away

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