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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. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  2. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  14. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  15. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  22. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  23. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  24. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?

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

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. pit — in a race
  3. hand — in cards
  4. pit — a hole
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. cap — a lid
  7. clip — a video
  8. fine — all right
  9. kid — to tease
  10. cap — a hat
  11. clip — to cut
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. bore — to drill
  14. cap — of ice
  15. bear — the animal
  16. kid — child
  17. fine — high quality
  18. clip — for paper
  19. fine — a penalty
  20. hand — help
  21. bear — to put up with
  22. bore — gave birth
  23. pit — a fruit stone
  24. bore — to tire

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