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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. What do you think of the new ________________?
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. When will it ________________ you to start?
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  8. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  9. Have you found your soul ________________?
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  12. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  15. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  16. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  20. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  21. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  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. cabinet — ministers
  2. cold — not warm
  3. mate — to breed
  4. clip — for paper
  5. suit — to fit
  6. court — of law
  7. bore — gave birth
  8. foot — part of the body
  9. mate — a partner
  10. clip — a video
  11. mate — a friend
  12. foot — a measure
  13. cold — an illness
  14. suit — in cards
  15. bore — to drill
  16. foot — the bottom
  17. court — of a king
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. suit — clothes
  20. cabinet — a cupboard
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. court — for sport
  23. bore — to tire
  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