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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. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  2. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  9. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  10. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  11. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  12. That must've been a ________________.
  13. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  16. Did you ________________ the meat?
  17. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  18. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  19. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. That was ________________ to happen.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to tire
  2. bound — obliged
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. clip — for paper
  5. trunk — of an elephant
  6. clip — to cut
  7. bat — the animal
  8. bound — tied together
  9. dip — to sink
  10. dip — to dunk
  11. rush — hurry
  12. rush — a thrill
  13. trunk — of a car
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. bore — gave birth
  16. season — to add flavour
  17. dip — a sauce
  18. rush — to hurry
  19. bore — to drill
  20. season — in sport
  21. season — of the year
  22. clip — a video
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. bound — certain

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