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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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. When will it ________________ you to start?
  6. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  7. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  8. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  14. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  19. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  20. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. chair — a leader
  3. suit — clothes
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. suit — to fit
  6. bore — to tire
  7. trunk — of a car
  8. leaves — lets stay
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. bore — to drill
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. trunk — of a tree
  14. leaves — of a tree
  15. snap — to click
  16. drill — a practice
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. drill — the tool
  19. bore — gave birth
  20. suit — in cards
  21. drill — army training
  22. clip — a video
  23. leaves — to go away
  24. clip — to cut

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