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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. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  6. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  7. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  8. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  9. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  15. How do you ________________ your surname?
  16. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  20. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  21. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. spell — magic
  2. tear — from crying
  3. bore — to drill
  4. clip — to cut
  5. current — of water
  6. cap — of ice
  7. current — happening now
  8. cap — a lid
  9. mark — a trace
  10. tear — from crying
  11. clip — for paper
  12. tear — to rip
  13. spell — a short time
  14. mark — to pay attention
  15. spell — letters
  16. current — electric
  17. last — finally
  18. last — final
  19. mark — a grade
  20. cap — a hat
  21. bore — to tire
  22. last — to go on
  23. bore — gave birth
  24. clip — a video

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